Rangers Lead the Way Into Hell
by MistuhSlender
Summary: This story is the tale of how Onyx Team comes to bring down the terrorist known as Marcus Blackridge, who was in possession of valuable US intel. The mission didn't go as practically as they would have hoped, but sometimes there's no other option. The location basis is from CoD MW3's Seatown. Some of the weapons are from Black Ops 2, but that doesn't change the story's progression.
1. Fox

**Master Sgt. Ross "Fox" Raymond**

**0615 Hours**

**16 September 2014**

**Undisclosed Location, Africa**

The briefing room was dark when I entered and closed the doors gently behind. The Forward Operating Base, or FOB, was just waking up around me. My instinct was to be as quiet as possible anyway. It was good practice for my line of work. Despite my attempt at stealth, the others in the room looked in my direction. They were Airborne Rangers, like me. The seven of us made up Onyx Team, a specialized task force formed not but two months ago. The only individuals present not of Onyx were an Intel Officer and a young bearded man in a flight suit who was chatting with Rook, Onyx's sniper. Something clicked in my head as I realized that the bearded man I was seeing would be the pilot who would be transporting us into "Hell" in this particular mission.

"Good, we're all here then," the Intel Officer said as she raised an eyebrow at me. Her nametag read "Mercil." I chose to ignore the condescending look and took a seat in one of the rows of chairs. The projector overhead illuminated and cast its light onto the screen.

"Now then," Mercil continued, "I'm sure you all recognize this man as Marcus Blackridge. In June, he stole highly classified government information. He'd been mining his way through our firewall for several weeks prior. By all accounts, he is still in possession of the intel—"

"We know all of what he's done and what he's taken," Rook interjected, "We've been chasing him for over a month now."

"Let the lady speak." This came from Captain Brandon "Elk" Zurfluh, Onyx Team's leader. He didn't normally tell people off, but when he did, it was undoubtedly something serious.

Mercil began again with a colder tone, "As I was saying, Blackridge was spotted by one of our drones yesterday. The importance of your success in this mission is critical." She paused.

"Why?" asked Bully, customarily blunt.

"Blackridge's plan is to sell the intel to Russia. There's no telling what kind of hell-raising will happen if Putin gets his hands on it. In which case, Lieutenant Allistaire here," she motioned to the young bearded man, "will fly Onyx Team over a coastal Somalian town where Blackridge is holed up. He has countless connections and more money than any of you could spend in a lifetime, so you'll have to deal with hired guns and militiamen as you infiltrate.

Objective one is to upload a virus to the computer itself that should wipe all government and personal data. Last resort: if it isn't possible, just destroy the computer. Secondary objective is to capture or kill Blackridge. He can either rot in prison or rot in the jungle. It's your call. Blackridge is too dangerous to let walk the streets. Are there any final questions?" Several hands shot up.

"What do you have on militia background? Arms?" said Bully. His real name was Billy, but Bully suited him better for obvious reasons.

Mercil replied with, "They are a local pirate gang called Mucaaradka Flag, or Rebel Flags for the monolinguals. They primarily run with AK-47s, RPGs, and 1887 Shotguns. They also arm whatever vehicles they possess with outward facing MGs. You probably don't have to worry about civilians being present because the town where they're holed up was taken when Blackridge set up shop there. The villagers were either run off or killed."

There was a heavy silence around me as the team tried to digest her words. I frowned. Depending on how many Rebel Flags were guarding the town, things could get ugly very, very fast. I also hoped that the mission would be short enough I wouldn't have to scavenge a new weapon; my SCAR-H was like my only child.

"How's our air support?" This came from 1st Lieutenant Dalton "Slender" Baker, who was standing in the shady back corner of the room. I almost jumped. Slender had a habit of going unnoticed until he appeared at your shoulder. For someone as observant as me, it was quite unnerving. Was I losing my touch? No, I wasn't the only one with a startled look. Slender noticed their reactions and smirked as he shook his longer-than-regulation hair out of his eyes.

"Lt. Allistaire's AC-130 will remain on station after Onyx Team parachutes out." the intel officer replied crisply, "He'll be available for tasking a fair amount, but he'll need to refuel and rearm as well. He'll be unavailable for several hours between firing runs."

"Right," Slender nodded.

"How are we being extracted?" First class Private Tyler "Goofy" Silva asked.

"Once Onyx Team has apprehended or killed the hacker and his stolen information, we will send a Chinook to pick you up at a designated LZ." It seemed like a straightforward mission to me, but as I've heard time and time again, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. I prayed for all I was worth that this was the exception. Elk the squad leader stood up, looked each of us in the eyes and said, "We have a national threat on hand. Let's go hunting, Onyx."


	2. Slender

**1****st**** Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**0745 Hours**

**16 September 2014**

**Undisclosed location, Africa**

"A hacker this time, huh?" I thought as I sat in the back of the briefing room. I never would have thought much of it when I was a merc, but then, I moved like a whisper. No trace, nothing to lose. This time, I was a part of a system with everything to lose. I've never been easy to spot. I've also been asked why I wasn't a sniper because of that attribute frequently. However, silence and perception evasion allows me to move in on a sniper's den and pick each person off; quietly and quickly. Not to mention that a CQC sniper rifle isn't exactly a strong suit. Though I may be good at long range warfare, I don't like to sit still.

I found motionless shadows to be an exceptional ally. Temporary HQ was perfect for it. If you wanted to find me, you don't. I find you. The silence was nice, but the sound of heavy metal from my iPod was nicer. Mission downtime was a perfect time for me to catch up on reading, drawing (I was a renowned artist to many), and writing to my girlfriend, whom I missed daily. Not to mention that people never really saw me sleep much, mostly because I'm a night owl paired with early riser. They call me Slender for a reason. My lack of noticeability contributed to this nickname. Some call me sick, some call me dark. I'm not, I'm twisted. Sick makes it sound like there's a cure and dark makes it sound like I have a light switch. My morbid sense of humor appealed to few, but I didn't care. It made me laugh.

I strolled through the hallways of HQ. As usual, everyone was oblivious to my presence, then double-taking when I walked by to see if their eyes were just playing them.

"Strategy," I said to myself. I made my way to the armory. I passed Fox and Elk in the hallway. The shadows hid me well. I could have scared them shitless, but they appeared to be seriously and intently discussing the mission, so I let them be. I opened the armory door, and it was quite dark. I thought I heard metal clinking. Then Goofy leapt from the darkness in an attempt to scare me. Not even a flinch.

"How the hell can you possibly withstand that shit?" he said as he left the armory. I switched on the light and walked over to what we call the "Slender" section. It was just a dark segment of the room with all of my preferred weapons, as well as all of my personal weapons, all of which have 8 tally marks etched in.

The mission would be a mix of both CQB and mid to long range. I had a large selection of firepower but I narrowed it down to a select few. Narrow and indoors would be my Skorpion Evo duo for a Spray-and-Pray, should it be necessary. My primary was a triangulated tie in my mind between three of my most customized weapons: FN FAL OSW, FN SCAR H, or an LSAT LMG. I settled on my SCAR because it was the best all-rounder. Select fire, ACOG, Folding Stock, and Dual Mag.

Fox, Elk, Rook, Goofy, Bully, and Cub all filed into the armory and gazed amongst the lead-slingers. Fox and I both used SCARs for their reliability and power, as well as being able to share clips. Fox attached his M203 under barrel grenade launcher on his SCAR while Elk cocked his trusty HK416 M27 as his choice with a Tac-45 on the side. Both Cub and Goofy used MP5s for a reason I never bothered to discover. Rook heaved up a DSR 50 while Bully chose an M1216. A shotgun wouldn't be the optimal choice, but then I saw him load a barrel of slugs. Elk stood in the front of the room as I took my place at the back.

"Marcus Blackridge: Wealthy hacker and persuasive entrepreneur. As far as we know, we can't trust anyone, so watch your back with extreme caution. We drop at 1800 hours. Dismissed." Elk gave us the intro and then left the room.

"No battle strategy?" said Cub.

"No," Fox replied.

"Why?" Bully said, customarily as he hears a command or tactic.

"Why? What do you mean why?" I scolded from the shadows. I could see his skin go pale and he went silent.

"Because, this op is one we have to strategize on the go. The Rebel Flags have no formal training and will be unpredictable," said Fox, who had been sharpening his beloved KA-BAR. "Take some time to really think about what you're bringing. We will be using the flash-frag tactic." I went back to the barracks to gather my thoughts. Our escort plane would leave shortly. I looked at my bed. Then I grabbed my Wiley-X sunglasses as I thought, "I can nap through the plane ride."


	3. Descent

**1****st**** Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**1745 Hours**

**16 September 2014**

**"****Seatown" Coastal Outskirts**

I awoke to the sound of opening bay doors. Strange enough to others that I could sleep through a rough plane ride. My sunglasses felt hot, but nonetheless, we had a mission to execute. We lined up and prepared to exit the plane. I created a new kind of secondary gun clip that was supposed to keep the gun tight to your side without shaking, but easy release upon a quick draw. I was keen to see how it would hold up under freefall.

The doors completed opening and Fox was rushing us out to drop. The next thing I know, I'm dropping like a stone. I sprawl out so the wind rushing past my face lets up enough to the point that I can see the drop zone. It was a Moroccan coast. Keeping unseen would be downright impossible.

We descended as planned, but then I thought I caught something white out of the corner of my eye. My hunch was right. A white Rebel Flag MG truck emerged from the trees on the hill. There were .50 rounds flying past us. I tried calling through the radio,

"Low rip! Do not pull until we're out of the line of fire!" Then I hear Goofy reply,

"God dammit! My chute won't fucking go!"

"Use your backup!" Elk commanded. My radio gave out after that. Then I noticed the MG truck stopped firing. I could guarantee that they would be going towards the coastline. The thought clouded my mind, and what I didn't see was Goofy tuck his limbs in and accelerate into the tree line. I was spaced out until I heard a blood curdling scream, followed by a series of snaps. I couldn't tell whether those were tree limbs or Tyler's bones.


	4. Picking Off Already?

**Captain Brandon "Elk" Zurfluh**

**16 September 2014**

**1900 Hours**

**In Freefall over Somalia**

I had always loved parachuting. The nerve hammer drop of freefalling is so intense followed by the reassuring jerk of a chute that puts the hammer in the drawer. But this time, things went wrong as soon as we left Allistaire's AC-130. I saw what I thought looked like a small pickup truck. The evening light made everything look darker, but what I saw stood out like Shaq in Japan. My suspicions were confirmed I heard Slender say over the radio,

"Oh shit! Incoming fire!"

"Technical!" I warned Onyx. The fact that the Rebel Flags spotted us was a dead giveaway because they opened fire. They were far enough away that we didn't have to worry about them as much as we normally would, but it was early enough in the mission that we could tell that things would be hot the whole way. For the kind of jump we were doing, we would have to open our chutes at a low altitude to avoid being spotted like sitting ducks. When the time came, I signaled,

"Open chutes!" over Onyx Team's channel. Hands grasped cords and let rip. Six mushroom shapes blossomed over the jungle.

"_Wait_," I thought, "_Something isn't right. Why do we only have 6 chutes_?" Then Goofy's voice crackled in my ear,

"God dammit! My chute won't fucking go!" This was immediately followed by hissed curses from Bully and Rook.

"Pull your backup," I tried saying as calm as I possibly could.

"Fuck! Fuck! Stuck! It's not working! Guys?!" Goofy's normally playful voice was harsh and grafting. The voice of a man right on the edge of life and death echoed through my head multiple times. I couldn't think of anything since chutes had already been deployed. Even if one of us tried to dive after him and open a backup, Goofy was already too far ahead of us.

"Aim for the trees! A hill or something!" My stress levels were already soaring. I couldn't bear the thought of already losing a man, nor could anyone else. There was nothing we could do but watch our teammate, our friend, to plummet to his death.

The technical was out of sight and had stopped firing, but I was sure it was going to drive as close as it could to the coastline to look for us. Goofy's radio channel was still open. He was breathing heavily, but he said to us with an eerie sense of calm,

"Guys…"

"I'm so sorry, brother," said Fox.

"Can you do me one last favor?"

"Whatever it may be," Slender replied.

"Bury me with my birthstone… and send them to Hell. I'll see you on the other side." The small figure that was Tyler Silva tucked in his limbs and dove to the ground, headfirst into Hell. We could hear a distant cry as he met the trees. After that, I tried to block the sound out of my mind. After we touched down in the open coast that was our LZ, we dropped the parachutes and covered all possible angles, weapons ready. I sighed,

"First things first, head towards the beach and find Tyler."

"Roger," Rook murmured. We made our way into the jungle, hardly making a whisper. Through the eerie green glow of my NVGs, I spotted a linear clear cut.

"Got a road over here," Slender whispered.

"Do not cross," I commanded, remembering the MG truck. We were as the still as the darkness that surrounded us, waiting in the brush for something to happen. I could only pick out everyone else because I watched them stop.

"Cub, you have the C4 right?" I asked Jacob "Cub" Payne.

"Affirmative," He replied.

"Plant it in the road and wait. Bury it, but don't make it look obvious. We'll come back once we're finished with Tyler. If that truck comes back, Blow the charge."

"Got it," said the bear-like man.

The rest of us crossed the road one by one while Cub slowly planted the C4 charge and moved back into the trees. Another 100-150 yards into the jungle, it ended and we stepped onto the pale white beach. The color retained even in the cloudy night. I figured that it was one of the beautiful white beaches that everyone dreamed of going to. However, I had no time to admire it. But, there was something of much more importance on the beach. After only a few minutes of searching, I heard Fox's voice cut in over the sound of the ocean waves.

"Found him!"

There was no questioning as to who it was. Onyx team converged on Fox and we gazed pitifully at the splayed body in its small crater. Without speaking, we immediately began to strip Goofy of his gear and dragged him up to the foliage of the jungle. There, he was hidden by the ferns and fronds from any prying eyes of the Rebel Flags. I pulled the tags from Goofy's neck and tucked them away with a huff.

"Let's move Onyx. We still have a mission to complete." Just as we entered the treeline, a large explosion announced the arrival, and death, of the technical, along with those inside. They were close enough to Seatown that they would undoubtedly be noticed. I was counting on the pirates' lack of discipline to cover it up. I was also willing to bet that the Rebel Flags got bored doing their job of guarding Blackridge and decided to shoot up the jungle instead. If not, Slender and I would be happy to greet anyone curious enough to venture out at night with a KA-BAR to the neck. We met up with Cub and followed the road North, away from the smoking remains of the truck and towards our objective.


	5. Breach

**Master Sgt. Ross "Fox" Raymond**

**16 September 2014**

**2341 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown", Somalia**

_What a beautiful place for such hideous things to happen_, I thought as we drew close to Seatown. That wasn't the place's real name, but it was a hell of a lot more pronounceable than its native one.

"Hold up." Elk ordered. There were some flickering lights further up the road.

"It looks like a guard house," Rook crisply remarked.

"Guess they don't like people driving in unannounced." I said as, annoyed that Rook pointed out something so obvious to the rest of us. I was trying to control myself. At this point in our mission, I was as taut as a compound bowstring. I was the calm before the storm. This guard house… might just have been what I needed.

"Fox, Slender, Move up to the doors," Elk whispered in a gruff tone, "Everyone have their silencers equipped?" Everyone replied with a confirmation. Slender took the booth to the right while I took the left. I cautiously moved in on the door. The checkpoint didn't look like much, but it was big enough to hold several people.

"Go ahead." I heard from Elk.

I rapped on the door several times and slung my SCAR, pulling out my silenced USP and KA-BAR. A sleepy grumble preceded the door opening. I didn't wait, and as soon as it cracked open, I was through it. The disoriented man in front of me stumbled backwards. A bullet from my pistol made a peculiar wet sound as it punctured his throat but at that point neither of us really cared. I turned and viewed the scene as if it were a work of modern art. The brightest spots I saw next were two enemies; one lazily seated at a table, the other laying on a cot. I nailed the first at the table three times, center mass. He slumped forward onto the table, his blood mixing with the chips of their unfinished poker game. Oh well. It was never going to be finished now. I silently strode over to the man on the cot. Holstering my sidearm, I tapped his shoulder to see him turn over and stare at me as if Death had come to claim his soul. In one motion, I covered his mouth and plunged my KA-BAR into his neck. He squirmed a bit before his eyes glassed over. It's funny how we cling to life so dearly and how quickly it deserts us anyway. I removed the satisfied knife from the man's throat and wiped the blood on the sheets.

"For Tyler." I said. The words hung in the air when I left. Once I exited the building, I heard a muffled scream from the other guardhouse. Had it happened at the beginning of the month when I first met my teammates, I would have been concerned for Slender. Now though, I knew better. Sure enough, the door opened and a body came tumbling out. The lifeless corpse appeared to have Slender's knife forced through the bottom of its skull through its jaw.

Another man stumbled out the door and fell to his knees, closely followed by Slender himself. The pirate on his knees seemed to be pleading for his life. Slender's akimbo Evo Skorpions came up and spat lead, cutting the poor guy off and rendering his face FUBAR.

"Damn," I thought, "He's one cold bastard." I glanced back at my own work and cleared my throat, deciding not to judge him. After a spectacle like that, I could tell he wasn't one to leave survivors where unnecessary.

"Clear." Slender reported in an almost ghostly tone. I did the same.

"Roger. Let's move. The entrance we're using to get into Seatown should be just ahead." Elk lead the way.

Whitish walls loomed in the murky night. We had reached Seatown and there was no sentry in sight. Good for us, very bad for them. The gate was a shabby affair. A simple push offered no challenge whatsoever. There was still no sign of any guards, which was very suspicious. Suddenly Elk pushed some of us behind cover.

"Eyes up!" he hissed.

"Shit! He's got cameras!" I cursed. Luckily, we had just the thing to fool them. I produced a unique piece of gear; a Black Hat. This device would freeze any live camera feed within a 20 yard radius. Unless Blackridge himself was watching, no one would be any the wiser as we crept through the rank streets.

"Rook, pick a spot and get on overwatch. Fox, clear that building to the left and head for the target building. Take Cub with you. The rest of us will meet you there. There's a lot of open ground between us and where Blackridge's computer should be, so we'll find another way."

I signaled to Cub and dashed left, stopping at the doorway of the building Elk told us to clear. Glancing down, I saw that Cub had his MP5 ready. I grinned. They wouldn't know what hit them. I slashed my hand, signaling Cub into the house. The large man stepped inside and fired almost immediately. I followed and saw two bodies splayed out and Cub was grappling with a third man for a machete. I sidestepped to get an angle and shot the pirate in the kneecaps. His scream was cut off quickly as a result of Cub putting a dozen rounds into his chest.

Cub turned to me, pale faced and sweaty. "That was sketch, man." I nodded in agreement and pointed upward. There was a staircase we had passed entering the building. We backtracked and ascended the stairs with me leading this time. A solid door blocked our path. I turned to Cub and told him the new plan.


	6. Merc

**1****st**** Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**16 September 2014**

**2352 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown", Somalia**

This being one of Cub's first missions, I could see the adrenaline coursing through his body. I knew there would be more enemies. I stood guard outside Fox's building, then I slipped away to search the backside of the building. I watched Fox and Cub climb the stairs that they previously didn't notice. I crept to the back of the building and saw an illuminated window on the 2nd story. There was a dumpster in front of a large truck just below. I rolled my SCAR onto my back and unclipped one of my Skorpions; the 8 etched tally marks glistening. I climbed onto the dumpster and then to the top of the truck. I peered in through the window.

"Four targets." I mouthed to myself. I popped up and put a round in each of their heads. The all dropped like ragdolls, quick and quiet. I hoisted myself into the room and had a quick look around. There was a table in the middle of the room with a map in the center.

I then heard a knock on the door. Fearing I knew Fox's plan, I conjured up a 3 second plan of my own to counter it. I approached the door and grabbed the door knob. I quickly swung the door open into myself and stood behind it. I counted 5 shots go off. The duo stepped into the room and then came from Fox, "What the hell happened?"

"Missing someone?" I said as I stepped out from my hiding place. I watched Fox raise his USP, but as soon as his arm was extended, the barrel of my Skorpion was already on his chest.

"I wonder how often this will happen." Sneered Elk as he walked up the stairs. I clipped my Skorpion to my thigh and we congregated around the map. It had one large red X on our target building, but it also looked like they had a secured perimeter along with a pickup/drop-off point.

"So, what now?" Cub asked.

"We pick off the perimeter, or we can take Blackridge and his computer tonight. It looks like it says the date of the transaction is tomorrow." Fox replied.

"Wait. Where's Bully?" I said. We all looked around but the 217 pounds of man and 2 pounds of ginger beard were nowhere to be found. He then strolled through the door and nonchalantly asked,

"So what's the plan?" He got 4 dirty looks. I was sure if Rook was watching us through the scope of that DSR, he would make it 5. Fox filled Bully in on the plan, and he interrupted,

"Why can't we just go there?"

"Be my guest." I said. Elk scolded Bully and then said,

"If we do it tonight, we have 2 hours to breach, secure the target, and get out." I walked to all the windows around the room and signaled to Rook that the house was clear. I had no idea where he was, but I'm pretty sure he was watching. All I knew was that our mission was about to heat up.


	7. Scoped In

**Private Gilbert "Rook" Theodore**

**17 September 2014**

**0000 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown", Somalia**

From my position on a nearby rooftop, I saw the standoff between Fox and Slender unfold. I wanted to warn one or both of them before it happened but the words seemed stuck in my throat. All I could think was, _Slender, what the heck are you doing?_ What he had just done was sloppy and dangerous, and it seemed like he was still working as a lone wolf mercenary more than a team… Which I admired about him. I'd have to remember to buy him a beer for it after dust-off. I saw the rest of Onyx, minus me of course, meet in the building they'd secured and talk about options. When they moved out, I had to keep in contact to warn them about hostiles I saw near them.

This wasn't an easy thing to do since I had to move along with them. I was sweating from the stress, which is rare for a sniper. Usually we're a cool and calculated bunch, but imagine the situation I was in: My spotter, Goofy, had fallen to his death, leaving no one to watch my back. The best overwatch position was the target building, so I could bet there would be semi-attentive sentries stationed in it watching for rats like me scurrying from rooftop to rooftop. It wasn't easy; it was a miracle all the roofs I jumped to were strong enough to support me. I was in the most dangerous position of all the team. I figured any second someone would see me and shoot me. Luckily, most people were asleep at this time, and I wasn't spotted.

The team had to apply the surveillance jammer several more times whenever they'd peek around a corner and spot mounted cameras with their beady black eyes. There were no other Enemies Killed in Action (EKIA) between us and the hotel where Blackridge was staying, although we had plenty of opportunities to get them.

Some of the crumbling houses the team passed had slumbering forms of pirates inside, their cheap weapons propped beside them. Once, they had to stop and let an unwary patrol go by. Their numbers were just too large to kill them without attracting attention.

When my watch was just reading midnight, the team came to the target building. Blackridge had given himself the best accommodations in the town, which wasn't saying much. The "hotel" was thrice as big as the biggest shack near it and had three floors painted the same faded pink, although that was impossible to tell by the glow of my night vision goggles.

I had reached a good position on a roof with a small generator which gave me some cover as I continued to scope the place out. The rest of Onyx Team waited, their restlessness growing with each minute. I couldn't see much of the bottom floor, but the top two had sleeping pirates, computers, and… _There._ A man was laying in a bed on the top floor. I couldn't see his face, but something told me this was the asshole we had come to kill: Marcus Blackridge.

"Elk, this is Rook. I have a tango on the top floor wearing a white button-up and jeans… It could be Notch," I said, using Blackridge's codename. "I am not positive, repeat I am not positive. Please advise."

There was a short silence. Then Elk replied, "I copy, Rook. We don't have time to confirm his identity. I don't know how long we have until the Rebel Flags find their dead. Silence the shooter on the roof so we can move up to the building."

"Roger that, sir." I said, and stilled my crosshairs on the sentry's chest. I breathed in, and so did the poor sod I was about to end. "Firing…" I breathed out. My finger smoothly curled tighter around the trigger until _thwip. _My rifle jerked a little, and the tango jerked a lot. After his body settled, I was concerned to see smoke rising from it. Then I realized his corpse was breathing out the drag he'd taken of his cigarette. I shivered a little, sure that this was one of those scenes to show up in my nightmares after deployment was over.

"You're clear to the hotel, sir," I told Elk. Their figures moved out of the shadows and slunk to the building's wall.

I caught movement in my rifle's scope and I settled it on the man in white on the top floor. He'd been woken up by a peculiar thump on the roof, and was now listening, bolt upright in his cot. I knew his face from the picture Major Mercil had shown us. It was Blackridge.

"Captain, Captain," I whispered excitedly into my mic. "I have a positive I.D. on Notch. He's in the only room on the top floor." Then I saw the dark forms of Somalians stir from where they'd been resting. "And surrounded by multiple guards."

Elk said, "Understood, Rook. Keep me posted. Onyx, move into the hotel. Go quiet. All contacts are hostile except Blackridge. I want him alive."

The figures opened what passed for a door in this town. I watched them until they disappeared up the stairs. On the second floor, one of the Rangers—Fox, I thought—unsheathed a knife and stabbed one of the men. Above them, Blackridge and a burly pirate were arguing. Blackridge seemed nervous; he kept pointing up and asking some question that I couldn't hear. The pirate finally exclaimed something, unsheathed a machete, and walked towards the stairs. Blackridge sat down at his computer.

I knew I had to warn my comrades, so I got on the radio again. "Rook to Elk. They're been alerted. There's a tango headed down the stairs and Blackridge is on his computer. Recommend you speed it up."

Elk acknowledged me and they took positions around the stairs to the top floor. As soon as the pirate appeared in the doorway, Elk moved out from the wall to shoot him. But the enemy was remarkably fast and he ducked under Elk's first shots. Shrugging off a round that had clipped him in the shoulder, the pirate threw himself forward and tackled Elk to the ground, yelling bloody murder all the while.

I gritted my teeth. My crosshair was floating around the two men, but I knew there was no way I could have a clear shot. Fortunately Bully was on top of it. He viciously kicked the pirate in the ribs, who rolled off of Elk. That was good enough for Bully, who blasted him with his M1216 shotgun. I heard the shot from where I was, and knew that any hope of taking Blackridge quietly had disappeared. Dogs started barking all over the town.

"Goddammit, Bully!" I heard someone say over the radio.

"What?!" he replied indignantly.

I looked at Blackridge's room again. The three Somalians were yelling and pointing their Ak-47s at the closed door. Blackridge was still on his computer… Wait. He'd pulled up security camera feeds. I saw tiny figures of the team moving into the stairwell.

"Shit! Elk, you've been compromised. Blackridge has you on camera."

"Now would be a good time to start shooting instead of just watching, jackass," snarled Fox.

_Oh. Right,_ I thought belatedly. Elk confirmed that order a second later, and I was already aiming for one of the Somalians. _Thwip!_ My rifle coughed, and the pirate staggered sideways. I'd nailed him in the ribcage, hitting most of his vitals at once. Beautiful. The other two looked around wildly, and I shot the second. The third man figured out what was happening and hit the deck, covering the back of his neck in a classic bomb-drill pose. Perhaps he thought he was safe on the floor somehow, or maybe he was hoping I'd have mercy. Either way, he was wrong.

"Onyx, all hostiles neutralized. There's only Blackridge left in there."

"Excellent," I heard Cub say.

The door flew open and the team filed in, making sure the room was secure. Blackridge grabbed a colt 1911 from his computer table and shakily aimed at Slender.

"I have a clean leg shot lined up," I told Elk. "We can end it here!"

"Negative. I don't want to risk it," he replied. Then, speaking to Blackridge: "Drop your weapon! Do it now!"

Blackridge hesitated, and then very carefully placed his gun on the floor, his other hand raised in surrender. Slender walked forward and slammed the butt of his SCAR into Blackridge's gut. The latter bent double, trying to suck in air. Slender kneed him in the face, and when Blackridge staggered backward, a boot extended to trip him. I felt myself grinning. It was like a finishing move out of a Mortal Kombat game. Blackridge definitely looked like he'd been K.O.'ed, laying there pitifully as Slender put a zip-tie around his wrists.

I heard a clamor in the town behind me and the hotel seemed safe for now, so I crawled to the other side of the roof. Somalian voices were shouting, and I saw more than one long shadow on the street, their owners freshly illuminated by flashlights and lanterns.

"Captain, if we're going to go, we need to go NOW. I've got tangos closing in on our position."


	8. Closing In

**1****st**** Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**17 September 2014**

**0100 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown," Somalia**

We made it into Seatown mostly unnoticed. Blackridge was secured. Unfortunately, my hunch that some kind of compromise was imminent was right. Enemies were all converging on our location, and I would assume Rook's too. All hopes of leaving silently went up in smoke. On the flip side, at 1AM we would have stealth on our side. I couldn't necessarily say the same for Blackridge; he kept trying to chew through the rope gag. I dealt some swift justice by punching him in the side of the head. We made short time infecting Blackridge's computer. After a total viral takeover of the computer, I loaded it with a Thermite charge. After that did its job, that computer was entirely unsalvageable.

We left the building as quietly as we could. Onyx Team regrouped in a pitch-black boxed-in alley. Elk, Fox, Cub, Bully and I were all accounted for. I radioed for Rook,

"Rook. What's your status? Where the hell are you?" Silence. We began to grow concerned, but then I got a muffled crackle over my radio, and Rook's hushed voice came in on the other side,

"The cretins are swarming in the vicinity. Trying to be stealthy while lugging around a .50 cal sniper isn't exactly easy."

"Do you know where we are?" I replied

"Yeah, I saw you all duck into that alley before I had to split."

"Move into the tree line on the outskirts of the town. Cover us while we make our way to the edge of the city. Spot for us. Don't fire unless it's absolutely necessary." Elk ordered.

"I don't like being stealthy." Bully abruptly said.

"God dammit Bully. We didn't ask you if you liked it. That's what we're going to do." Fox retorted. I hushed the two and we all backed up against the walls behind two dumpsters because there were two pirates passing the alley. I knew Cub was nervous, I could hear him and his gear shaking. I tried to reassure him by putting my hand on his shoulder. He stopped for a second, but then it sounded like something fell off of him and hit the ground, making a loud *CLANK.* We fell silent. The pirates stopped and turned to the alley. They said something in Somalian and cautiously walked into the alley.

"Why would you do that?" Bully demanded from the darkness.

"Dammit." Fox said, stepping from the shadows with his USP drawn. He put a round in each of the pirates' skulls, both hitting the ground with a muffled thud. I saw Fox holster his sidearm and Elk pushed Bully and scorned,

"Keep your mouth shut. You could have cost us the entire mission. Now grab Blackridge and move!" The delirious Marcus Blackridge was obediently staying put without a sound. It was almost a little suspicious. I could see a look in his eyes like he knew something we didn't. I decided not to let it bother me, as it could have been a trick to unnerve us. I saw Bully pull him to his feet and shove him forward. We dragged the lifeless pirates into the alley and advanced towards the edge of Seatown. Something told me that the pirates already knew what we had planned.

"You've got an MG truck about a block ahead and right." Rook whispered over the radio. Elk ordered Cub and Bully to hold position. He then ordered Fox and me to check the perimeter. Fox and I moved forward to the corner of a building and peered around. There we spotted the white MG truck along with at least 7 Rebel flags, primarily wielding RPKs and AKs. I switched my SCAR to semi-auto. Fox turned to Elk and said in a low voice,

"7 tangos. Your call." Elk took a second to think, then replied,

"One shot everybody. Pick one. Slender, Fox, you'll have to take two of them because of Bully's weapon preference. At that moment, I remembered Bully brought a shotgun.

"Bully. What were you thinking?" Fox said.

"Go with the pecking order. Take out the most attentive first. Rook, it's your shot first." I said over our personal frequency. There was one pirate sitting in the back of the truck, two at a table playing cards, and the other 4 were sleeping. Rook ever so carefully took out the pirate in the truck. Before the two at the table could react, Fox and I put a round in each of their heads. Cub was even being daring and had fired about 9 rounds into two of the sleeping pirates as they stumbled to their feet. Elk had dropped another pirate with a headshot. Without thinking, Bully had worked his way up the side of the outpost and before the pirate made it to his gun, Bully blasted the pirate in the back with buckshot. It was incredibly reckless, but he was lucky enough to not have been spotted by any other pirates. Then I noticed that the pirate he'd shot wasn't entirely dead. With his last dying breath, the pirate had pulled the pin on a frag grenade and rolled it towards Bully.

"Bully! Get down!" I yelled.

"Why?" he asked. The grenade exploded behind him and he fell forward onto his chest. Hopefully the distance between him and the frag paired with the flak jacket would be enough to protect him from serious injury. Any hope of staying unnoticed was gone entirely now.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you may as well have fired up a flare. You've got literally everyone headed your way." Rook said over the radio.

"Dammit Bully!" Elk exclaimed, "Cub, grab Blackridge and run!" I could see Bully getting to his feet, it appeared he was mostly just shocked rather than injured. The 6 of us made like hell towards the city entrance.

"Rook. Open fire." I said, "You keep going! I'm going to make a diversion!" I stopped running and turned to the others. "Go. I'll catch up." I watched as the others ran out of sight and I went to the MG truck. I started it up and set the steering course to go straight down the middle of the road into the town. I then got out of the truck and placed a large rock on the gas pedal, thank god it was an automatic. I stepped back and watched the truck take off into Seatown. I then removed the silencer from my SCAR and switched to full-auto. I could see Rook still firing into the city. Hopefully he could distinguish me from the pirates. I pulled a smoke grenade out from my pack and charged into the town.


	9. Run Like Hell

**Master Sgt. Ross "Fox" Raymond**

**0145 Hours**

**17 September 2014**

**Codename: "Seatown", Africa**

I could hear Bully swearing a blue streak as we made for the exit. The rest of us were silent, but we were feeling the same dread and frustration as he seemed to be. We had one dead and two under heavy fire covering our backs. Hopefully Slender was as good as he seemed to be, because Rook would need all the help he could get to get out of Seatown alive. The pirates were swarming. More and more lights were coming on. Occasionally there would be a rattle of AK-47 fire behind us or an explosion, which made me instinctively flinch.

Movement from an alley to my left. I spun, and paused in case it was our guys. Voices speaking Somalian said something urgently. I opened fire. One of the shapes fell with a scream, and the other ducked behind a dumpster. I sprinted a few steps to catch up with my team.

Cub was still lugging Blackridge in a fireman's carry, not even straining under the hacker's light weight. Yet another white pickup cruised into the street ahead of us.

"Go right! Get off the street!" Elk ordered. At his shout, the mounted machine gun on the back pivoted our way. I was the last to enter the alleyway, and the technical's bullets were nipping at my heels.

"**Oh shiiiiit**!" I shouted as a large chunk was blown out of a wall above my head. Elk was the first to emerge into a marketplace at the end of the alley.

"Contact left! Grab some cover!" He ducked behind a stall. Bully sprinted out and slid on his knees behind some sandbags.

I pulled Cub back as he was about to run after them. "No, stay in the alley and watch our back! Keep an eye out for that truck!"

He dropped Blackridge like a sack of potatoes and knelt with his MP5 trained down the alley. There was a short flight of steps at our end of the market leading to a landing. I sprinted up them and went prone behind the retaining wall made out of the same dry brick as the rest of this place.

The stuttering fire of multiple AK-47s rang out, and one of my guys shouted. I rose to a kneeling position and got a bead on one of the pirates. _Thwip, thwip._ Puffs of dust rose out of the wall behind him. The poor bastard glanced at it in confusion, as if he didn't recognize his own blood.

More rifle fire forced me back down, but I heard Elk firing his M27 in short bursts, so I knew at least one of them had fire superiority. Cub suddenly shouted from the alley, "Heads up! The truck has a bead on us!" At the far end, the technical had pulled positioned itself so the gunner could see down the alley.

"We need to move!"

"Flash out!" I heard Bully say. We all got ready to run. A blinding series of chemical flashes lit up the market, and a few of the remaining pirates cried out in pain. I vaulted over the wall and ran with the guys away from the truck, which was really starting to piss me off.

The pirates were in disarray, staggering around trying to clear their vision. Bully and Elk slaughtered them without mercy. After a moment's hesitation, I dropped a 40 mike-mike high explosive grenade into the launcher attached to my SCAR. As soon as the idiot on the machine gun stopped firing blindly, I spun around the corner of the alley and sent it downrange. The grenade sailed through the windshield into the backseat, where it detonated.

"Technical is taken care of," I said into my throat mic.

"Yeah, but who knows how many of the damn things they have," Cub replied grimly, shouldering Blackridge again.

A Somalian appeared on a rooftop as we ran down another street. Silhouetted against the moon, it was almost a Kodak moment except for the RPG he was pointing in our direction. Before any of us could take him out, there was muffled _crack_ and the pirate sat down hard. The RPG went off and the rocket sailed above Seatown. It was almost like a firework when it went off, except it would attract even more attention to our position.

"I got you covered," Rook said over the radio. I guessed he'd finally reached a secure location.

"Sir, where are we going?" asked Cub.

"Away from the damn pirates! We can't let them corner us."

We turned another alley and found ourselves staring at a wide boulevard overlooking the sea. There was a well and further away…

"I can't believe it." Cub's voice held a trace of hopelessness. "We're back at the same hotel."

There it was, the faded pink building seeming like a nice refuge about now. There was only the problem of such an exposed area to cross to get there. Flashlights appeared behind us, accompanied by African voices. They'd found us.

"There's no choice," Elk said. "Bully, toss a frag behind us and everyone make ready to sprint to the hotel! Rook, Slender, if you can hear me, the hotel is our new rally point! Get to it ASAP!"

"Roger," said Cub.

"How you holding up?" I asked him.

"Scrawny here is starting to get heavy," Cub complained, adjusting Blackridge's weight across his shoulders.

"Frag out!" Bully said over the radio in case Rook or Slender were in the vicinity. We darted from the shadows and across the avenue, no longer caring about stealth. The grenade went off and stopped our pursuers there, but others were getting close.

"Tangos coming up the stairs behind you!" Rook warned us. I spun and fired off a few rounds, but the Somalians knew I wasn't putting in any effort. Bullets whined around us as we got through the hotel's doors and in Cub's case, a window.

"Return fire, men! Bully, take Blackridge upstairs and keep him secure." Elk popped up and took down a pirate with his first burst. Inspired by his bravery and accuracy, Cub and I also began picking off targets. With the amount of incoming fire, we seldom had the chance to send more than a few rounds downrange, but I knew we were damn close to hitting our targets. I rested my sights on one only to have him pitch forward before I could even pull the trigger.

"Stole my kill!" I told Rook.

"You want me to call a WAAAHmbulance, Fox?" he replied. I could practically see his shit eating grin through the radio. Then he was serious again. "Got an RPG team on a nearby building. Watch it."

We wounded one of the RPG wielders and pinned them all down, but by no means were they forgotten. "Keep an eye on them, Onyx," Elk told us. So we'd send a burst their way every once in a while.

"Changing mag!" I shouted, and sat with my back to the firefight to eject my spent magazine and slap in a new one. "Hey Slender, where did you get off to? Slender, respond."

I took a knee and aimed at the first movement I saw, which happened to be a pirate charging the hotel with a Molotov cocktail in one hand. _What the hell does he think he's doing?_ I thought in disbelief. My first round took him high in the outer chest. He staggered but kept coming, so I fired a few more. Some of those guys were known to get so high on drugs that they wouldn't react to getting shot. Their bodies would just keep going no matter what, leading many Army guys in Iraq to underestimate them and pay the price for it. One of my shots luckily hit the bottle in his hand. It exploded and coated him in liquid fire.

There was the most bloodcurdling scream you ever heard. The pirate was writhing around, trying to brush the ignited whiskey off his upper half. When that didn't work, he staggered towards me, raising an accusatory hand like the Angel of Death itself. I put one between his eyes, pitying the poor sod's suffering.

A voice cut in over radio static. "_Onyx Team, this is Helios Zero-One. Looks like you guys could use a little help down there, over."_ It was Allistaire, the pilot of the AC-130!

Cub laughed and gave me thumbs up from behind a nearby table. I returned his smile, hoping that we might finally be at the end of this firefight. Elk replied, "Good to hear from you, Zero-One. We've been compromised and are pinned down by a large amount of enemy fire. We can mark targets with smoke, over."

_"__Roger that. Awaiting target designation."_

Elk first tried to contact our guys who'd be in the most danger. "Slender, Rook, if you're receiving, acknowledge immediately. We're about to call down an airstrike, so I need to know your positions."

To me, he said, "Get a smoke signal ready. When I signal, toss it as far out there as you can."

I did as he ordered, hoping Slender and Rook would be able to get out of there before all hell broke loose.


	10. Regrouping

**1****st**** Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**17 September 2014**

**0115 Hours**

**Location Irrelevant**

After branching off from the group, I was almost a mercenary again; the lone wolf, the contract killer. I wasn't entirely sure how I should play it; I could try and play it stealthy or go out guns blazing. I chose the stealthy approach. It wasn't possible for me to go at it that way immediately. I had engaged several Somalian pirates and put each of them down before they could even get a shot off. To preserve my own ammo, I picked up a pirate AK-47. I ran through the streets, firing off attention rounds into the sky. I ran into a shady street and sprinted towards the clearing on the other side. The silhouette of an MG truck passed by, along with a group of about 12 Somali pirates. I had no choice but to dive into a nearby open window. The room was pitch black, and I had no choice but to put my SCAR on my back and pull up one of my Skorpions, partially because it would be CQC, and the other because it was the only one with a flashlight.

What I found in the house was a godsend. It was clearly a storage house because there were guns, ammo, and explosives everywhere. As silently as I could, I opened one of the crates and began to place the boxes of ammo into a stray backpack. I tried to pick out .45, 9mm, 7.62, and 5.56 rounds primarily. I stashed what I could into my pack and closed the crate, trying to make it look untouched. I heard over my radio,

"Onyx Team, this is Helios Zero-One. Looks like you guys could use a little help down there, over." I could tell it was Allistaire. I wouldn't have much time before death rained down on me. After poking my head out the window, I checked a 180 to make sure I was clear. I could hear Somali voices in the streets, but I climbed out of the window without being seen. After firing more distraction rounds, I heard more gunfire coming from the direction our recently abandoned hotel was in.

"Oh shit. That's not good." I mouthed to myself. I pulled my scarf over my mouth to suppress the sound of my breathing in quiet alleys. I turned into the street and began to head towards the hotel, but then I heard a large number of footsteps behind me. I ducked into a dark shadow and was as still and silent as the shadow itself. Another MG truck came tearing past me followed by a preposterous number of pirates. I waited and hoped that luck was on my side. The pirates came running past, paying no attention to me. I waited until I felt the pirates were sufficiently far enough away, but then I heard a straggler bringing up the rear. As he came towards me, I clipped my Skorpion to my side and readied my knife. When he was parallel with me, I stepped from the shadow and covered his mouth while pushing my knife into the base of his skull. I dragged the body into the shadow and searched him for ammo. I noticed he was carrying a classic FN FAL. I took that and his remaining ammo and left for the hotel.

The firing sounded louder and louder as I drew nearer to the hotel. I attached my silencer to the FAL and began to pick off any stray pirates that came between me and my goal. I came into a clearing where I could see the hotel under fire by 9 remaining pirates and an MG truck. I could hear Fox and Elk's frantic shouting coming from the hotel in the firefight. As I took aim at the ground troop, I saw the gunner's head explode out of my peripherals. The mass of the blast could only be from Rook's DSR, but I couldn't tell from where. I could only pray that Rook could tell me apart from the pirates.

I used the FAL's iron sights and lined my shots over all the pirates' heads. After each of them dropped, I could hear a voice over the radio,

"Wait, Rook, I thought you only had 5 shots in a mag?"

"That wasn't me." Rook replied in a confused voice. I would leave the reintroduction for when the dust settled. I ducked around the back of the building and encountered a retreating pirate. I grabbed him, snuffed him while sinking my knife into his chest. I grabbed his sidearm he had on him, a Colt Python and went into the bordering alley between my building and the hotel. I peered around the corner and saw there were two pirates standing in front of a door into the hotel rear. They appeared to be planning to breach the building. One of them opened the door and before entering, I raised the Python and blasted one of the pirates in the neck, while the other in the temple. I stood back to the shadowy wall and took a breath. I heard Cub's voice from around the corner, "Jesus. That was way too close and loud to be Rook."

I emerged from the shaded corner and said, "Yee-fuckin'-haw pardner." Cub looked at me with an expression of terror. The fact that I was quite blood-stained didn't exactly help my image.

"I used to want to be a gunslinger as a kid."

"You are a work of Death himself," Cub inquired, "You better get in here." I dropped the Python and entered the building and regrouped with Onyx Team.

"Well, at least you're alive," Elk said, "Your distraction dragged them one way for a while, which gave us time to leave the town, but then reinforcements came and pushed us back here. We're running short on ammo and time. Were you able to scavenge anything?"

"Actually, yes. I got some loose ammo boxes; namely .308, .223, .45, and 9mm. There weren't any compatible clips, except for this, Fox" I held up the FAL and its spare mag. I tossed the full clip to Fox because our SCARs were the only FN make on the squad. I pulled the last clip from the FAL and placed it in my bag, and dropped the now unnecessary gun. The lull between fire was cut short and the hotel was under fire once more.

"You do realize that we almost called in a rain of fire while you were out there right?" Fox teased,

"So I've heard," I said, "Light this candle." Elk lit the smoke and with the door open, threw it into the town. Elk radioed in,

"There's a tall standing faded pink hotel on the south end. Try not to hit it if you can, we're on the ground floor. We'll take care of anything near enough. Open the taps Helios."

"Roger, Onyx Team. Impending doom in T-minus 30 seconds." Allistaire replied. We could hear the AC-130 in the distance, and it was advancing very, very quickly. Then Fox shouted,

"DIG!" We all hit the deck and then the lead hail came down with a fiery vengeance. It was a solid minute and a half before it stopped, and then we heard from Allistaire,

"I think we chopped 'em up pretty good. I've got plenty of slugs left, but I'm running out of fuel. I have to go back and top up. Sorry guys."

"That's fine Helios Zero-One. I think we've got it from here. Wait until we call for dust-off." Elk replied. I said after,

"After that spectacle, I don't think they can hold up under attack. If you listen, they're retreating. If we hit them now, we might be able to take them out for good."

"And what makes you think that will work?" Bully sneered.

"I just charged off into the middle of them and came out alive. If that's not inattentive on their part, what is?" I retorted. I could see the indecisive look on Elk's face. I could tell he was trying to make a call. The only question was; what would it be?

"Fox, Cub, Bully, you three link up with Rook. Take Blackridge with you. Slender and I are going in to take the majority of them out." Elk gave the command, and we split up.


	11. Demise of a Captain

**Captain Brandon "Elk" Zurfluh**

**17 September 2014**

**0200 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown," Africa**

It was still dark and we were about to go on a suicide mission. Slender and I split from the group and headed north from Onyx Team. The only hope was that we still had stealth on our side. We'd had plenty of close shaves already, but when would it be too close? Slender and I took cautious steps through the streets, but something wasn't right. It was much too quiet for my liking. I held up a hand and signaled for Slender to stop.

"What do you see?" He whispered.

"It's too quiet. Something isn't right." I replied. "Shit. Into the alley!" We ducked into a nearby alley and recouped.

"What was it?" Slender asked.

"I think I saw a laser." I replied.

"Where?"

"In the house. Dead ahead. Second story left." Slender motioned me aside and switched his SCAR to single fire. After aiming for about 7 seconds, he fired one shot and said,

"Well, that's the end of him."

"Keep moving." I told him. We kept silently walking through the streets until we heard the pirates' voices. We peered around a house's corner and spotted 12 pirates camped out next to a hut. I nodded to Slender and he backtracked our path of travel and came up the other side of another building opposite of me. I signaled to him and we opened fire. Our suppressors did their job well of masking our fire. I couldn't say the same for the bodies hitting the ground. Talk about Drowning Pool if you ask me. I radioed Slender,

"Stay on that side. Take out any pirates in your way. Be careful."

"Same goes for you. I'd rather we both make it back from this." He replied in a hushed tone. The cobblestone path I was walking on turned into dirt alley. I was between a row of houses and the short city wall. I heard 4 suppressed shots from across the road. I whispered into my radio,

"Anything on your—"

**1st Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**17 September 2014**

**0230 Hours**

**"Seatown" Backalley, Africa**

Elk's radio cut out as soon as I took out a drunken pirate who stumbled into the road. I pulled the pirate's body into the alley and rushed over to Elk's alley. I silently but swiftly moved in on Elk's position. I ran into the alley and almost into the same thing he did. It was horrifying to see that the leader of Onyx Team had fallen into a hole littered with Punjabi sticks. He was impaled in multiple places and barely alive. The hole used to be covered in a burlap sack surrounded with yellowed, dying grass. I descended into the hole to try and save my battered captain.

"I'm not going to make it," he coughed, "Fall back. Take my ammo. Give me a dignified parting." I bowed my head in respect. I closed Elk's lifeless eyes and searched him for resources. I grabbed his spare mags and dog tags. I did what I could to lift him from his grave. I hoisted his body from the hole, and then ascended, myself. I pushed Elk over the wall and then followed suit. I used my knife and cut down some bushes to cover Elk's body. I left his M27 with him, empty to avoid giving enemies useable weapons, should they find his body. I almost felt a tear coming to my eyes. There was no time to weep; we had a mission to finish. I held up my radio,

"Operation abort. Repeat. Operation abort."

"What? What happened?" Fox replied.

"Captain is KIA. Hold position. I had a look around up here; this place is riddled with traps. Claymores, pitfalls, Betties, and some things unspeakable. I'm coming back." It pained me to say it, but we couldn't afford to lose any more soldiers.


	12. Hell for the Rookie

**Private First Class Jacob "Cub" Payne**

**17 September 2014**

**0233 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown", Africa**

We left the hotel through a back alley with the Somalians pounding on the doors behind us like ravenous wolves. I regretted having to do so, since it was such a nicely defensible position. Of course, we weren't going to let the pirates have the property either. Before our hasty exit, Fox and I had wired some C4 that Slender had picked up on his earlier adventures to key points in the infrastructure. Fox wasn't sure, but he said there was a good chance the beaten up building would come crashing down once we blew it.

We came to a stop fifty yards from the hotel. "Rook, do you have eyes on the inside of Rally Point Alpha?" Fox asked urgently.

From somewhere high up, Rook answered us. "Yes, sir. There are a dozen tangos inside. More are advancing, but if you don't blow the charge now, the ones in front are going to exit it on your side."

"Roger that. Fire in the hole!" Fox said, activating the detonator. The first thing that reached us was the rumbling. Then the noise; a shock wave and a cloud of dust raced toward us soundlessly, owing to the fact that the thousands of pounds of rock, rebar, and bodies had already obscured all other noise for us. When it was over and we could hear again, Rook contacted us.

"Good kills, I repeat: Good kills, Onyx Team. They won't be following you through there."

"I copy, Rook. We're Oscar Mike." Fox nodded in satisfaction.

Bully had taken Blackridge once more. I wasn't sure what the plan was, or even if there still was one. Fox seemed to know where he was going, leading us through the town. We met very little resistance, which was at once relieving and stressful because I knew there was still a sizeable amount of them out there. Slender and Elk were hopefully going to kick the Rebel Flags while they were nursing their wounds and finish them off.

"Cub, see if you can get in touch with command. Tell them we're ready for dust-off." Fox spoke quickly and quietly. I nodded and took my radio out of my pack while the others stood guard around me. Blackridge twitched in his bonds and mumbled something unintelligible. I feinted at him and he flinched.

_"__Overlord, this is Onyx Team. Come in Overlord, this is Onyx Team requesting an audience, over."_

There were a few moments of silence, and then Mercil's voice broke in crisply over the static. _"Onyx Team, this is Overlord. We read you five by five. What's the situation over there? Over."_

_"__Situation FUBAR, Overlord! We've got one KIA and we've stirred up the hornet's nest. We are in possession of Notch and objective one is complete, I repeat, the files have been disabled. We need immediate extraction, over!"_

_"__Roger, Onyx Team. Chinook helicopters are standing by to assist, but you need to either clear the area or eliminate all the pirates so we can get you out safely. Do you copy? Over."_

I looked at Fox, who was listening in on our conversation. He grimaced and whispered to me, "Neither of those is going to be easy. I guess we could double – time it back to our insertion point. We'd pick up Goofy's body on the way."

Mercil's voice came again. _"Onyx Team, do you copy, over?"_

"_I copy, Overlord,"_ I said heavily. _"We will get back to you when we're ready for extraction. What resources do we have available?"_

There was almost a minute of static while Overlord presumably conferred with others to find out what we could use. Fox moved us into a small house where he stood guard at the window, peeking through a makeshift curtain (more like a tattered rag fixed over a hole in a wall). Bully stood near the back door with Blackridge at his feet.

Overlord came back to me. _"Onyx Team, Overlord. We currently have a Predator drone loaded with AGMs on route to your location. In addition, Allistaire's bird will be available for tasking at about 0400 hours. We'll air drop you a care package with ammunition and more importantly, the Predator control rig. I recommend you use it defensively to maintain a perimeter until Allistaire is on station again. Then you should try and escape Seatown. Over."_

Bully thrust his fist in the air in a silent exclamation. I responded, _"Onyx Team copies all, Overlord. Radio when that care package is available and we'll pop a flare. Onyx Team out."_

Fox came over from the window and patted me on the back. "That flare will draw them out like none other. We should hunt for a good place to call it in."

"Roger, that, Sarge," Bully said. "Time to move?"

"Not just yet. _Fox to Elk, what's your situation, over?"_

There was no response, so he tried Rook instead.

_"__I copy, Fox,"_ said the marksman. _"I'm very near your location. Approaching from the rooftops. Watch your fire."_

Fox had barely acknowledged before we heard a distinct thump on the tin roof. Footsteps traced someone's progress toward the edge of it, and I looked outside in time to see Rook lower himself to the ground, DSR cradled in his arms. I cracked open the door to let him in.

"Don't worry, it looked all clear before I moved," he said.

Fox clasped arms with him in welcome. "Damn good to have you back, brother."

Bully chimed in from beside the door, "Even better to have you wearing gloves, man. Shoulda nicknamed you 'Clammy' instead."

I stifled a chuckle, but at that moment Slender's voice came in over the comms. _"Operation abort. I repeat, Operation abort."_

_"__Why? What happened?"_Fox demanded.

_"__Captain is KIA. Hold position. I had a look around up here; this place is riddled with traps. Claymores, pitfalls, Betties, and some things unspeakable. I'm coming back."_ Fox told him our position and then all we had to do was wait.

Fox paced like a caged animal, slamming his fist into his open palm and cursing under his breath. Bully looked deflated. His shoulders had slumped and he was looking at Blackridge as though he wanted to brutally murder him, since he was the cause of all this death.

Eventually Slender hopped in through the window, but this time no one freaked out. No one flinched, which was an indicator of how distraught we were. It could just as easily have been a Somalian pirate, and then it would have been game over. Elk had been our compass, our rock. He was always there to pull us to cover when we were ambushed or when we got in a hairy firefight, which had happened all too often over the last months as we were chasing Blackridge. When the other members of our squad were killed on a similar mission, he was there with a quiet word while we were sitting silent in our rooms in the barracks. He stepped in to prevent several fistfights between a few of us when Onyx was first organized. No one would dare swing on him; he had that quiet kind of confidence that assured painful regret if you crossed him, so our only choice was to back off and make nice with one another.

Slender crossed the room to Fox and held out his fist. Fox extended a palm and took Elk and Goofy's bloodstained dog tags, barely glancing at them before he tucked them away in an empty pouch.

"This is starting to remind me of that other mission," Slender started. We all knew which one he was referring to.

"Don't. Just don't. Not until we get out of this," Rook choked out. His words seemed to act as an energizer to Fox, who strode to the back door.

"Right, we need to move. Cub, you're on point. Slender, take the rear. Bully, get behind me with Blackridge. Stack up on the door! We have to find a place to hunker down and wait for the supply drop."

We moved to our designated positions, except for Slender, who took a last peek out the curtained window. Fox squeezed my shoulder, a signal to move. I eased open the door with my left hand, keeping my MP5 shouldered with my other. There was no movement, so I walked along the alley cluttered with trash. Rook had slung his DSR and taken out a pistol, but even that—having one more body amongst us to stand against the tide—was helpful to our plunging morale. _Elk…_ I thought sadly, then frowned and visibly shook my head to snap myself out of it.

"What's wrong?" Fox whispered behind me.

"Nothing," I said. "There's a tower ahead; Looks pretty defensible. Should we check it out?"

"Affirmative," Fox said. "Watch out for those traps Slender mentioned." So we moved up to the doors cautiously. It was a weird building, possibly meant to be a watchtower. The thing was cylindrical and had a spiral staircase in the center leading to somewhere below. We were stacked up along the wall now beside the door. As I got set to kick it in, the first rays of the morning sun broke out from behind a distant copse of trees. I was glad it was at our back.

I raised my foot and kicked the door in. Fox and Slender wasted no time in rushing in. I heard a confused voice ask something, but it was cut off by a quiet cough of a suppressed weapon. I went in next. There were two bodies on the floor, and Fox was dragging another back from where it had slumped over the window sill. We gave them each a round in the head to make sure they wouldn't get back up.

Something moved in the shadows downstairs. A shifting of a lighter color on a darker one was all I saw, but muscle memory brought my weapon up.

"Contacts on the stairs!" I told my teammates. It wasn't too loud, but somehow the Somalian pirate heard me. He seemed to recognize that it wasn't a voice he knew, because after a hasty glance upwards into the light, he fled down the passage. My finger, a hairsbreadth away from pulling the trigger, relaxed slightly. I cursed inwardly and went down the stairs as fast as I could while still watching the short tunnel. I saw it emerged into a lower road than the one we had just come in on. The pirate was running, glancing back to make sure I wasn't right on his heels. Apparently he forgot that he didn't have to be faster than me, but faster than my bullets. I took aim while walking forward and failed to notice a side room. A Somalian hurtled out of it and shoved me, forcing my shots to go wide.

I lashed out with the butt of my gun, furious at having to deal with this distraction. I managed to clip the pirate on the side of his head, but he was in the process of stepping back and unholstering a Desert Eagle pistol. I made a quick choice; since I wouldn't be able to get my MP5 up in time, I stepped in grabbed for his gun. He hissed in surprise, tried to jerk away. My fist connected with his nose and he fell back. Thanks to the cheap make of his holster, when he fell the whole thing came away with the "Deagle" still tucked inside. I aimed it down at the poor creature on the floor in front of me, who suddenly had its hands up in a pitiful gesture of surrender. He tried smiling, a façade of friendliness that only made me more hostile. A shout made me glance to my right. The pirate who had run was raising the alarm call.

I realized too late that I shouldn't have looked away from the more immediate threat, who had made use of my split attention and kicked upward into the most vulnerable target of all.

"Shit!" I protested, squeezing off a round that hit him in his side. The pirate echoed me in his language and tried to grab the Desert Eagle from me on his knees. Here's a funny fact about me: Whenever people used to try and kick me in the crotch like he just did, I was always

able to suspend the pain for long enough to get revenge on the one who'd caused it. That's exactly what happened here.

Even as I felt the familiar ache shoot up my body, I flipped the pistol around and hauled off to club him in the side of the head. He collapsed like a puppet whose strings are cut, and I easily twirled the Deagle and fired into his chest. "_Screw it_," I thought, "_we're already compromised_." I emptied the rest of the clip into him, screaming "**Fuck yyooooouuuu**!"

"Slick," I heard someone say behind me. I turned to see Slender staring at the grisly spectacle with his eyebrows slightly raised over his sunglasses. I brushed past him and went back upstairs, trying to wipe off some of the stickiness that had gotten on my face after finishing off the pirate. Then I realized the blood was all over me and gave up on it.

"What the hell was all that?" Fox asked when I met up with them.

"Bit of a problem," I said, wincing as another painful throb went through me. "Nothing I couldn't handle, but they once again know where we are."

He nodded. "Bully, break out those claymores you brought. Set them up on the lower road. We have to hold this position until our Predator arrives. Rook, get set up on overwatch wherever works best for you. The rest of you, police this area and gather all our resources." He checked his watch. "It's almost 0400 hours, so hopefully we won't have to wait long."

We hopped to it. Rook put some tables together and went prone on them with his DSR scanning the avenues of approach, keeping the rest of us safe as usual. Blackridge was dumped in the room I fought the pirate in, trussed up securely to a sink. I wondered if it wouldn't be better to have him closer, but then again, it would be safer down there then up here if we got attacked, where he was less likely to catch a stray bullet. Bully set out to fortify his position with claymores, and I gathered the guns and ammo I found in the tower and brought them upstairs in front of Fox.

"Sir, we're all running low on ammunition," I told him. "Rook is down to his last magazine in his rifle. I have two left. I'm sure you and Slender will be alright for now, and Bully has a full bandolier of shells because… Well, he only fired a few times. I got these—" I indicated a small pile of AK-47s and boxes of ammunition for them. "From this tower. Since it's what the pirates use, I'm guessing we'll all need one sooner or later. We also have one RPG."

"It'll be more than enough," Fox said. "That AGM payload is on its way, plus Allistaire's gunship. Best case scenario, we won't have to fire another round before we're out of here."

I nodded, but remained unconvinced. How could he say that when the rest of this mission had gone so poorly? I took an AK47 and fastened it securely to my back. I didn't intend to take any chances.

The sound of a barking dog, which had been a regular noise since Bully had first attracted so much attention with his shottie, now began to grow louder. "What's that?" I asked Rook.

"Some dog," he replied nonchalantly. "Don't let it worry you. I'll see it if it comes our w—shit!" His eyes widened behind his rifle scope. "Guys, we have incoming! Seven or eight dogs, all of them headed straight for us!"

"Bully! Get up here," Fox ordered. He hurried to the window. "Damn, there they are. Rook, can you get a bead on any of them?"

"I'm trying, sir, I—" Suddenly Rook's DSR made a small cough and we heard a short yelp from outside. "Got one!"

Fox rested his SCAR on the window and started firing at the mangy pack outside. Slender did the same from the other side. I couldn't get an angle, because the only window we could see them from was being dominated by the three previously mentioned. Bully and I hung back, listening for screams of pain from dying dogs.

"They're too close!" Slender sounded annoyed more than anything. Furry missile-things hurtled straight through the window and into the circular tower. Some ran around and around in circles, barking and snarling. Fox and Slender both went down as a dog flung itself on top of them.

Bully's shotgun boomed and one dog flipped end over end into a large scaffold. I fired, but they were so damn fast. I figured I shouldn't waste ammo, so I ran over to help Slender instead. The dog he was wrestling with was coming close to getting its jaws around his throat. I tackled it off of him and hugged it tight until it whined in pain.

"Cub, drop it!" Slender yelled. I flung the dog away, and Slender opened up with one of his Skorpions. Another of the hairy bastards raced toward me. It was a Pitbull, and despite my love of canines I did my best to shoot the thing. These weren't some American house pets who love people and let themselves be dressed up in cute costumes. These things had been bred to fight, and had probably been doing it all their lives under the instruction of the Mucaraadka Flags. It wasn't their fault for why they were attacking us, but I'd be damned if I put an animal's life above mine or my teammates.

The dog lunged in and bit my calf. I yelled and kicked it off, but it felt like the Pitbull took a chunk of my leg out with it. It sprang at my face, and

I instinctively stepped back while using my MP5 to melee. Another mutt darted in and snapped at my rear; I lost my balance and fell. The Pitbull went for my throat, but I managed to keep it back by crossing my forearms on either side of its neck.

The one that had tripped me appeared in my peripherals. _Shit_, I thought, knowing full well that I couldn't handle them both at once. Luckily someone was watching out for me, and its head exploded in a shower of blood. I reached up and seized the Pitbull by the head. With a swift twist, its neck was broken and I was free to get up.

The last of the dogs were gone. Almost everyone had been bitten, but most were superficial and required a bit of gauze wrap. "Great," said Bully sarcastically. "Another thing to look forward to when we get back: rabies shots."

"It was time for you to get those renewed anyway," Fox rejoined breathlessly.

"It reeks vit de stench of dog shite." Slender mimicked a stereotypical Russian accent. It was obviously a line from Nikolai Belinski. A dark face appeared right outside our tower. Fox spun and shouted, "Contacts! Open fire! Push them back!" The amount of bullets that pirate soaked up was astounding. Fox hit him at close range with the better part of a magazine and the pirate just kept flinching with each bullet impact. His cheap sunglasses and beret flew off, and his white T-shirt was in tatters, yet somehow he was still standing. Fox stopped firing and waited a moment. When the pirate swayed in place instead of falling down, Fox growled something inarticulate and precisely gave him one to the forehead. The pirate finally fell over backward, landing spread eagled on the stone. A pool of blood quickly spread outwards.

The rest of us had engaged the enemy, who had craftily used the dogs as a distraction so they could get close. They underestimated us, though, and most hadn't quite reached the wall before we opened fire on them. I was out of ammo in my MP5 in seconds, so I cast it aside, screaming, "I'm dry! Switching weapons!" The trusty weapon, the one most recognized in the 20th century emerged. It had only iron sights, but I had plenty of spare magazines in case I missed a few.

_"__Onyx Team, this is Overlord. Our care package is entering your AO at this time. Pop your flare and we'll send you some presents."_

_"__Roger, Overlord!" _Fox shouted over the unrelenting gunfire. _"Firing now!"_ He pulled the flare from his tactical backpack and shot it straight up. The buzzing of engines drew closer, and apparently the pirates heard it as well, because the incoming fire lessened as they all hid from what they must have thought was another airstrike.

The placement was beautiful. Whoever was piloting the bird above us knew their stuff, because the bulky care package landed exactly where Fox had fired his flare seconds earlier. It thumped to rest almost at his feet, and the rest of us covered him as he opened the case. Inside was ammo, medical supplies, and most importantly, the Predator drone control rig.

"Who here wants to operate this thing?" Fox demanded. All of us answered that we did, but I had called dibs first.

"Cub, you're up." He slid the rig across the ground to me, and I lay on my belly behind the wall while booting up the computer.

_"__AGM missile is online,"_ Overlord helpfully told us.

A video feed from the Predator circling overhead showed our tower, and nearby all the pirates were tagged with red squares. There was our destroyed hotel, and the market where we were chased from… Man. We had covered a lot of ground in the last few hours.

I activated a missile. The video feed made it look like a ground was rising up to meet me. I used the controls to guide the rocket toward the biggest cluster of enemies I could see—which happened to be only 20 yards away, on the far side of a large well. The rocket's feed cut to static as the missile hit, and the rumbling was intense from being so close to an impact.

"Hell yeah!" Bully yelled, so excited he was getting spit into his beard.

_"__That's at least three kills, Onyx Team. Keep up the fire."_ Overlord's message was hard to hear since right below me, more explosions cooked off.

"What the hell was that?" asked Rook, who had wobbled dangerously on his tables.

"Must've been the claymores," Slender explained. "The AGM being fired so close set them off."

"Best to make certain," Fox said. "Bully, go make sure we don't have visitors downstairs."

"Roger that!"

_"__AGM missile is online."_

I booted up another missile and sent it streaking down onto a rooftop where an RPG team and several riflemen were trying to set up shop. It felt so glorious to have so much firepower. Even from where I was on the ground, I felt and heard the explosion and the top floor of the house cave in.

_"__Good shot, Onyx. That was five confirmed kills."_

Bully ran back up the stairs. "There's no one down there except Blackridge, sir. He's alright, but shaken from having those claymores go off so randomly. Should we move him up here? He has no protection now."

Fox shook his head. "Negative. He's better off trying to hide."

Rook called to us. "Last mag! I'm gonna climb up this scaffolding and see if I can get a better angle outside to make these shots count!" He rolled off the tables and began climbing the pole construction, flinching when a bullet ricocheted through it with a series of _pings_.

_"__AGM missile is online."_

I popped open the computer again and was startled to see half a dozen pirates advancing on the lower road, right toward where Blackridge was hidden. "We've got company downstairs!" I warned the guys. "Dealing with it now." The missile flew straight and true, but a few seconds before impact one of the Somalians looked up and screamed. They all scattered, but most sprinted for the cover of the tower. After the missile hit, of course, I couldn't tell if any had survived.

"What's the status on Blackridge?" Fox asked.

"Not sure. I got most of 'em."

A screaming African charged our building firing his RPK wildly. Slender took his head off with a short burst. "Bully, you want to check the downstairs again?"

Bully opened his mouth to whine, but a hailstorm of bullets flew up the stairwell and cut him off. Swearing, he hit the dirt and put both hands over his head in protection. "Like hell I will! I can tell from here that it's crowded."

Fox glanced over at us again from his post at the window, ignoring the flakes of wall that fell past him. "I think there was a flash-bang grenade in the care package. Use that to flush 'em out."

Bully got a hold on the flash-bang and tossed it casually down the stairs. A pirate shouted something in alarm but then the grenade went off and they were almost helpless. Bully pulled a second grenade from the rectangular care package, this one a frag. "No!" I shouted, but he had already pulled the pin. I wrestled the grenade from his hand and pitched it from the tower like it was going to home plate.

"What was that for?" Bully demanded, shoving me back a step. "They said we were going to use the flash-frag tactic!"

"Yes, but not when there is an HVI in the vicinity," Slender reminded him.

Bully made a loud grunt of exasperation and barreled downstairs, firing his shotgun at anything that moved. I went down to help him, but he was already on his way back up. "He ain't there."

"What?"

"He ain't there! He's gone. They took him."

Fox leaned his head back against the wall, stifling something he'd been about to say. Or maybe he did say it, and I just couldn't hear over the incessant gunfire.

"What?" asked Slender.

"I said, where the hell is Allistaire? It's past 0400." He tried the radio. _"Helios Zero-One, what's your status?"_

_"__Entering your airspace in two mikes, Onyx Team. Hang in there, over."_

"RPG!" someone screamed. We all got snug against cover. I squeezed my eyes tight against the jaw- rattling explosion that followed. When it stopped, I popped my head up for a look. A section of wall in our tower was crumbled and flaming. Slender, who was closest to it, spat onto the bricks and flipped the bird in the direction of the enemy.

"Tangos left," I warned them, and waited until the Somalians were moving from their cover. They looked scared shitless but also angry. I put an entire magazine into them until the survivors had lost their nerve. My sights came to rest on a man crawling with just his arms. There was a thick blood trail behind him, and he was moaning piteously. My finger started to squeeze, but then I stopped. What would this solve? The man was going to bleed out soon anyway. Should I finish him off or let him savor his last moments as I would wish to? It was almost relieving when a smattering of bullets forced me to take cover. When I silenced the upstart firing at me and looked at the other approach again, the dying pirate was gone. Perhaps one of his friends took him into cover. It didn't matter.

Rook's sniper rifle boomed again, as he'd taken off the silencer to strike more fear into the enemy. "I'm out of ammo! Watch your heads, I'm throwing it down." He carefully dropped it off the scaffold where it clattered on the stone. Almost made me wince. The damn thing must have cost thousands of dollars, but it wasn't of use to us anymore. It definitely wasn't going home with us. Rook started clambering down from his perch.

_"__AGMs are ready."_

I popped open the control system and the feed came up. At the same time, Helios announced his arrival on the scene. Fox gave him a SITREP and used a infrared laser to mark targets for the gunship to hit. It didn't even seem necessary for me to use the Predator, so I decided to close the laptop and save ammo for when we needed it. Right before I did, however, I saw an alert on the computer. It flashed away and one of the missiles disengaged. "Shit," I thought, frantically trying to guide it somewhere it would help us. I felt a rising panic as the missile not only ignored my commands, but steered itself towards our tower. "Double shit."


	13. That Ring in your Ear

**Master Sgt. Ross "Fox" Raymond**

**17 September 2014**

**0402 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown", Africa**

Another of Helios' presents roared down and hit a building at my 12 o' clock. There was almost a constant rumble and tremors in the ground now that he had arrived, and it was fucking awesome. There weren't that many pirates left, although some from outlying areas had no doubt arrived to take part in the fun, like vultures circling a dying tiger. They were careful not to get too close because our claws were still sharp, but if Helios hadn't showed up, we would've been in a bad way.

"Boys, it's time to move!" I said. "Helios is going to provide cover as we leg it out of town."

Rook was still halfway down the scaffolding, but the rest of us were more than happy to go. Cub, who had been fiddling with the Predator control rig, looked up at me. "We have a rogue missile!"

Over the roar of Helios' artillery, we heard a sharper noise, one that was growing louder and louder. I looked up and saw a bright spot like a shooting star, growing in size as it streaked down toward the tower. "**Missile!**" I repeated. "**TAKE COVER!**" I thought we were finished right then and there. None of us had any cover when the AGM hit except Bully, who had dived headfirst down the spiral stairs to the lower level. For whatever reason, the missile hit the top of the scaffold instead. I was shielding my face with one hand, but got a short view of Rook abandoning the climb and trying to leap to safety. Then the missile hit, and sound and vision ceased. Shrapnel and rubble hit me in several places, including a head sized chunk of stone that glanced off the sole of my boot.

Gradually I became aware of an incessant ringing in my ears. That isn't to say that it wasn't there before, what with all the guns firing around me, but I'd gotten used to that. This was something new; something that I was sure would make me lose a little more hearing. Then I squinted my eyes, and all I saw was gray dust. It was fuzzy as well, especially when I tried to sit up.

It's understandable, then, that I said what I said over the radio. It was the first thing that came to mind. _"Who's dead?"_ I coughed. No response, at least not one I heard. I made it to all fours, and then got to my feet, not realizing that I was standing in the open doorway. Fortunately, the surviving pirates had bigger things to worry about. I walked forward and a shape emerged from the haze. Sunglasses. It was Slender, who put a hand on my shoulder and said something I couldn't understand. I shook my head stupidly and went past him.

Another shape darkened into reality, this one on the ground. I had to use two hands to flip the person over, and it felt much more difficult than it should've, like everything was underwater and I was drunk to boot. I barely recognized his face, but it was Rook. He had several ragged holes in him, which were trying to bleed but were stifled by the dust which had permeated into them. A piece of the scaffold had struck him in the forehead, and the most serious wound was the foot long shard of rebar that had hit him just below his ribcage. If he hadn't been wearing his plate carrier, he would've been skewered like a pig. He wasn't conscious, but a check of his pulse confirmed that he was still alive.

Slender appeared again and offered me an AK-47. I took a deep breath and accepted it. Some hearing was starting to return, because I vaguely heard Helios' continuing barrage on the hapless Somalians. How could there be any left?

Someone stumbled our way. Slender and I immediately aimed at him, but it was just Cub, who didn't seem to notice he had lost his assault vest. I ordered Slender to patch up Rook, then supported Cub so that he wasn't holding himself up. "What the hell was that?" I demanded. "Why did the missile hit us?"

"WHAT?" he yelled, clearly not hearing a word. I shook my head in annoyance and let him lean against the wall. Bully was just poking his head tentatively up the stairs.

"Come on out," I said. "It's clear… For now. I think we need to find some cover, though."

Bully spat out some blood. "Damn. Did Cub just try and kill us all?"

We went back over to the others. Slender looked up, and his face was more grim than usual. "He's losing a lot of blood. I've done what I can, but we have got to get him out of here."

The prospect of losing a third man was too much to consider. I gritted my teeth. "Right, we're gonna go. Bully, Cub, grab whatever you can from that care package! Slender, you're on point. I'll take Rook. We're legging it while Allistaire keeps them busy. Speaking of that…" I switched on the radio. Thank God it still worked. _"Helios, this is Onyx. We've been fired on by our own Predator for an unknown reason. We're trying to exfil now, and we need route clearance. How copy, over?"_

_"__Good copy, Onyx. I saw that AGM hit you. You boys alright?"_

_"__Negative. We have one seriously injured."_

"Boss!" Bully held something up from the care package. It was an infrared strobe light. I grinned. Command had come through for once.

_"__Helios, friendlies will be marked with IR strobes. Keep up the good work, over."_ Helios acknowledged, and after we'd all activated and attached our strobes, Slender peeked out of the tower. Seeing no movement, he walked out and we followed. Helios' gunship made a pass overhead, and we instinctively moved faster, at a light trot now. We more or less knew where we were going, having studied the map of the area often enough. My forearm stung where a dog had bit it during the attack. I grimaced and flexed it angrily, muttering, "Dogs… I hate dogs."

Then Slender froze, staring up at the sky. We all came to a shuffling stop behind him. "What is it?"

"You hear that?" he responded. I noticed a high pitched whine, just like the one a few minutes ago… "Get off the street!" he yelled. "Into a building! Go! Go!"

As he was saying this, he entered the nearest one first and made sure that it was unoccupied. We followed as the sound grew louder, accompanied by a kind of whooshing noise that sounded like the Grim Reaper had grown wings. I tripped over the threshold and the others half fell, half dived over me to get inside. I frantically dragged Rook across the floor until the AGM found its target.

It was impossible to stand, so I fell on top of Rook, trying to shield him as best I could. The building virtually collapsed around us. What felt like an entire wall landed on me, and again when everything quieted down the first thing I noticed was the dust. Then I heard Helios trying to raise me on comms. _"Onyx Zero-Two, are you reading me? Onyx, are you there? Respond!"_

_"__We're here,"_ I croaked, trying to get my breath back. I yelled to anyone, "Guys, get us out of here! We're trapped under the damn wall!"

There was the shifting of bricks and wood as my team dug themselves out of the rubble.


	14. A Nasty Surprise

**1****st**** Lt. Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**17 September 2014**

**0424 Hours**

**Location, Unspecified**

After the dust settled, I had a look around at my current situation. I was pinned underneath a broken section of a downed wall. Mercifully, it was broken from the portion that held my squad members down. My arms were free, so I removed my sunglasses and placed them off to the side. I could hear Fox off to my right, frantically telling us we need to find a way to get out from the rubble. "No way?" I thought. I kept my mouth shut, this was not the time to be joking. I heard Rook from the rubble,

"Can't… breathe. Chest… collapsing."

"Guys, I'm pinned! I can't move." Fox said in a mixture of fear and trauma.

"I'll be damned to Hell if someone else is going to die right now! Not like this!" I shouted from beneath my wall. Only my head protruded out, but my arms had near full motion. I began to work my arms into a position like a bench press. I pushed as hard as I could. The wall began to rise slowly and I worked my legs up to an egg position in front of my chest. I placed both of my feet on the slab and pushed for all I was worth. The rubble moved fairly easily. It wasn't light by any means, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. A sudden fit of rage gave me newfound strength that I desperately needed. I gave the wall one last push and reached my arms back and grabbed a downed piece of concrete heavy enough not to budge under my force. I rapidly pulled myself out from the wall and was free before it came crashing down.

"Now's your chance to shine rookie." I said to Cub.

"How?" he asked

"You're the only one that I can see is on their back. I'm going to work my way under the slab and I need to do exactly as I do." I shed my pack and jacket and crawled into a gap that realistically only I or Rook would fit under. I looked over at Cub and said,

"On 3, you're going to push with your arms with all you've got. When you get enough space, you're going to work your legs up until you can get your feet firm on the flat surface. Then you push like you don't have a tomorrow."

"Yes sir!" he said as he nodded to me

"1, 2, 3, GO!" I counted and gave the order. We pushed and immediately made progress. Both of us began to push with our legs. I saw Bully further down under the rubble. I called to him,

"Bully, you push too!"

"Why?" he asked.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE BULLY! IF YOU DON'T PUSH WE WILL TAKE FOX AND ROOK AND LEAVE YOUR ASS HERE TO FEND FOR YOURSELF!" I ranted. That shut him up and he began to push. Fox started to crawl back off of Rook. Once he was free, he reached in and grabbed Rook by his legs and pulled him out from the debris. Fox then called to Bully,

"Bully, you need to work your way toward the opening."

"Nah, I thought I might stay here." He replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Slender, Cub, set it down." Fox ordered. Cub and I slowly started to let the wall down. I could hear Bully frantically trying to scramble out from under the downed wall.

"Not gonna crack any more jokes now are you?" I scolded as Bully passed by me and free from the wall. "Cub, set your end down and work your way out." He did so without a question. Once he was free, I began formulating a plan. I reached for one of my Skorpions at my pack. When I had it in my hand, I hit the mag release and tossed the clip aside. I extended the stock to full length and placed it straight up at my side. I let the wall down slowly until it was propped up entirely by the SMG. With the weight off my legs, I straightened them out below me and rolled to my left and out of the rubble; mere seconds before the gun gave way and turned into an arachnid pancake. All that mattered for now is that my SCAR was fine. I lay face down on the floor, breathing heavily. I felt arms on my shoulders lifting me up. Cub and Fox brought me to my feet.

"One hell of an act soldier. When we get out of here, drinks are on me." Fox said. I wanted to muster up a smile, but I didn't have the strength. When the two released my, I fell to my knees.

"Give me a second. I need my breath.' I said. After coming to my senses, I stood up and looked at my crushed Skorpion under the wall. "Damn. I liked those things." I said. I Picked up my jacket and put it on, followed by my pack, then I picked up my SCAR. I grabbed my sunglasses and placed them over my ears, but not over my eyes. "Do we have Blackridge accounted for?" I asked. Cub looked around the vicinity.

"Negative. Not a trace. For all we know he was killed during the explosions." Cub said.

"Fuck him. His computer had the intel, not him. Our work here is done." Fox said. Bully was eerily quiet. Likely in spite of what I said to him.

"Before we set off, I'll do a quick scout around make sure we're clear to go." I said. I left the destroyed building and walked into the streets. There were tracks in the dust. The looked like they could have been Blackridge's. I followed them until they entered a nearby house. Inside the house I got a nasty surprise. On a table in the middle there was a missile control unit laptop and a rusty knife. On the floor there were cut zip-ties. This meant Blackridge had escaped. I slung my SCAR over my back and grabbed the laptop. I rushed back to the rubble house.

"Cub! How many drone firing control units were in that care package?" I asked as I was running

"I don't know. I only had the one that Fox gave me." he replied.

"Fox, did we grab absolutely everything from the care package?" I turned my attention to the Sergeant

"We had to have. Why?" he said with a puzzled look. As I walked up to the house, I held up the second laptop,

"Then where did this come from?"

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUCK!" he shouted.

"This cocksucker is going to die," I assured Fox, "2 of us are dead because of him, one is in critical condition, he escaped by cutting his bonds, and, where I draw the line, he tried to kill the rest of us. He's mine. I'm going to make an example of him."

"Alright. This guy just signed his death warrant. Do whatever you want to him." Fox told me. I set off in search of our liability of a hostage.


	15. An Undignified End

**Private First Class Jacob "Cub" Payne**

**17 September 2014**

**0430 Hours**

**Codename: "Seatown", Africa**

Slender took off in pursuit of Blackridge. Where to? I have no idea. All that mattered is that Blackridge didn't make it out alive. Fox looked at me and said,

"Take Rook. Be careful with him. We don't need him any more busted up that he already is. We need to get out of Seatown to an Evac point." Fox turned to Bully and said, "Bully, you take point. I'll bring up the rear. Cub, you do what you can to support Rook. We can't let him die here."

"Yes sir." I said. I hoisted Rook over my shoulders and moved as softly as I could. I could feel his blood running down my skin. It was spine chilling. The only person I could think that would enjoy this would be Slender. We made our way southbound towards the ocean's edge. I could only guess that it was South. I had lost my compass in the rubble when the AGM came down on us. The sun was starting to come up over the horizon, so I assumed we were going by the whole "sun rises in the East, sets in the West" slogan. Fox was in an eerie state of calm. I could tell he was pissed beyond measure.

Time passed as we traversed through Seatown. I didn't know how long it was, but daylight had almost revealed everything possible. It was oddly quiet; too quiet. It seemed like all the pirates had retreated. Either that or something worse was coming. I didn't want to think about it. I heard a crackle on Fox's radio followed by a voice. It was none other than Slender himself,

"Check the data upload. You're going to love this." All 3, me, Fox, and Bully pulled out our PDAs and were immediately cast into silence of shock. I set Rook down on the ground, leaning up against a building. I looked at the picture on my PDA and instantly covered my mouth. I could also tell my eyes had to be at least the size of CDs. The picture Slender sent us was so gruesome that I almost immediately vomited in the street multiple times. The photo was unmistakably Blackridge killed. Slender had taken a machete and hacked clean halfway through Blackridge's body, starting with his head. His head was in half, and the cut went about 7 inches down past his neck. It looked like Kung Lao had performed a fatality on him, only Slender took it one step farther. He had impaled the body on a sharp log, dug a hole, and mounted the log in it like an effigy. Likely in hopes that anyone who might come for us be deterred.

"Slender. What the fuck did you do!?" Fox radioed.

"Check the audio recording." Slender answered. I couldn't bear to listen to it myself. I merely went down on one knee and closed my eyes and tried to ignore the impending horror. I could hear the audio feed, and I could visualize what was happening as well was the other two were hearing it. I could hear Slender shouting,

"There you are you worthless fuckhead." Slender obviously had him backed into a corner. "You're going to pay for what you've done."

"No! Please! Stop! Mercy! I'll do whatever you want!" It was Blackridge's voice.

"THEN FUCKING DIE! TWO OF OUR MEN DIED COMING HERE TO TAKE YOUR ASS! AND COUNTLESS MORE DIED FUCKING LOOKING FOR YOU! YOU DON'T GET TO FUCKING WALK AWAY! YOU TRIED TO KILL MY TEAM, MY BAND OF BROTHERS. And worse still. YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" His voice stopped, because it was replaced with utter agony. I looked up. Fox and Bully weren't even looking at their PDAs. They couldn't even muster up the strength to cringe, even considering all the extremely fucked up things they had already seen on prior missions. I thought I even saw a tear coming to Fox's eye. They merely held their PDAs at their sides and tried not to listen. The recording kept playing. I could hear Blackridge screaming and crying as Slender bashed his head into a wall. I heard a body hit the ground. The crying continued.

"Please…Please…. Stop…Mercy…" Blackridge tried to speak between heaving, painful sobs. "No… NO… PLEASE. GOD. PLEASE NO!" Blackridge screamed. Then came the sound that would haunt me until my dying day. I could hear the sound of metal sliding against stone, like when someone slide s a knife through a sharpener.

"NO! PLEASE! NOOO-" Blackridge was cut short. I heard the sound of a sharp blade hacking apart flesh followed by a body hitting the ground. It even sounded like it cut easily. The recording stopped, but I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I don't think I could even stand to look at Slender ever again if I had seen the whole thing in person.

"Mission… accomplished… I would guess." Fox said softly. He radioed to Slender again,

"Lieutenant, where is that effigy you made?"

"Northeast end of town, where we breached. Why?" He replied.

"This isn't Mortal Kombat. We… don't really want to see that." Fox said. "We're headed southbound to the beach for dust off." Slender replied back,

"Roger that. I'll meet you there. Over and out." The radio cut out and we were left in silence. I never enjoyed it more.

"Bully, Cub, move out. Cub, grab Rook and continue as planned." Fox ordered. We walked in silence for about 15 minutes. I could tell Rook was delirious. If he couldn't make out anything on that audio recording, I'd say he was the lucky one in our situation.

"I didn't think it was possible for someone to descend to that level of sadism." I muttered under my breath. We came to a small opening in Seatown. It was more of a widened alleyway. Fox ordered us to halt, but Bully kept walking.

"I said STOP. That's an order soldier!" Fox barked.

"Why?!" Bully scoffed, "We're trying to get out for evac aren't we? Why can't we just get there as fast as we can?" I felt obligated to put him in his place,

"Bully. There's not just a B-line option for every fucking mission. If you want to rush to the beach as fast as you can, be my guest. But you're not getting out of here without us and Slender."

"Fine by me." Bully sneered and walked off down the alley. I saw Fox draw his pistol.

"I'll have your ass discharged for insubordination." Fox growled. Bully kept walking and gave Fox the finger. Before fox could lift his USP to aim, we saw and heard an explosion. Bully was launched at high speed into the wall on the left. It would be a miracle if he survived that. There had to have been some loose claymores to do that. It couldn't have been just one. Fox and I rushed to him as fast as we could.

"No! Dammit! Not someone else!" Fox exclaimed. The tears kept flowing from his eyes. I was the same. Bully's right leg was not there anymore. His left was bent at an angle that should not be. His left arm was broken in 6 places, he had a cracked rib, blunt force trauma, a cracked skull, a concussion, and he was fast bleeding out. Bully culled together the strength to say,

"Fox… I'm… sorry. So stubborn… Now I know…. What Cub meant…" Fox said nothing, but only grasped Bully's hand. "Not gonna….. make it…. leave me… finish the mission… Go." Bully coughed up a handful of blood and stopped moving. I could see Fox struggling to comprehend what he had just seen. He lifted his hand and yanked Bully's dogtags and put them in his side pouch. He then closed Bully's eyes and got to his feet.

"We keep moving." Fox muttered. Then he radioed Slender,

"Dalton, Billy is KIA. Don't bother looking for him. Just keep moving to destination Alpha."

"Fuck….. Okay. I'll keep moving." We walked for at least another half mile before coming to an opening of a plaza.

"We need to recoup before moving into the open. Move into that abandoned hotel." Fox ordered. We made for the second highest story of the building and settled into the room for the time being, placing Rook on the bed.

"I don't know how we're going to make it through here without being spotted," Fox said, "We're basically fish in a barrel if there are any pirates out there. We can't call for evac here, and I don't know how much longer Rook has." Rook coughed when he heard his name. "At least he's still breathing."

"He's not the only one, Ross." came a voice from outside the door. In a second, Slender came walking in; bloodier than I thought possible. It looked like someone pelted him with a water balloon full of crimson paint.

"You sick bastard." Fox stood up and walked to him. They locked a hand and rejoiced. "I'm glad you're OK."

"Same to you three." Slender said, "How's Gil holding up?"

"Not good." I said

"Damn." Slender muttered. I noticed something odd about him. I could barely see any skin on his face underneath all the blood, but I saw drip marks that cut through the red on his cheeks. It looked as if he had shed about as many tears as we had.

"You don't feel satisfaction for what you did, do you?" I asked him.

"You might think of me as a monster, and I don't blame you if you do. But I don't necessarily like killing people as much as the next guy. Even though, I put the job before my own thoughts. After, the question isn't 'How do I do what I do so heartlessly?' it's, 'How do I possibly forgive myself for what I've done?' I believe there is a peaceful solution for most conflict. Some take exception, but I'd ordinarily rather take place in the peaceful solution." Slender bowed his head. I figured it was best not to ask any more questions. We sat in silence for a good 15 minutes. Then, I heard the wings of death approaching in the distance.

I looked out the window to the North, and there came the Russians. There was one chopper ahead of all the others. It must have been a scout, but it was by no means harmless. I turned to Fox and Slender, wide-eyed, and mouthed,

"Oh. Fucking. Shit." Fox asked what it was.

"It's the fucking Russians!" I said. The chopper must have had one hell of an optics system, because it made a B-line for our building and opened fire in short bursts.

"DIG!" Fox yelled and we all hit the deck. I lay on the floor, traumatized. Slender turned to me and shouted,

"We're gonna go for it! We're gonna fight our way to evac! You run and fight! And don't you fucking stop laying hell until you're dead or free!"

"Rook! Stay down!" Fox yelled.

"What-" Rook tried to lean up and understand what Fox said, but it proved to be a fatal mistake. The chopper's fire came tearing through the walls and had nailed him in multiple positions. He was dead within seconds. I froze in fear. I couldn't bear to watch another one of my friends be murdered in front of my eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" I could hear Slender shouting next to me in such a low pitch that I could have sworn we were in a death metal music video. He stood up and sprinted through the door and down the hallway towards the stairwell. Fox yelled,

"STOP HIM!" I saw him load a grenade into his rifle's under barrel attachment. I stood up and took off after Slender. Once I reached the roof level, it was too late. I watched as Slender sprinted for the edge and stepped on the lip and jumped. It was like watching it in slow motion. The chopper was alarmingly close. In one swift motion, Slender pulled a Semtex from his side pouch, pulled the pin, and hurled it at the base of the chopper's engine bay like an MLB pitcher. It stuck so firm that the C4 make-up of it flattened slightly. I moved to the edge and watched as Slender fell 2 stories to the roof of the building next to the hotel. He tucked his knees in and rolled like a parkour runner. The chopper exploded into a fireball, just like the Hollywood special effects depict it. Slender stood on the roof and yelled to me,

"Get down to ground level and justify your service!" Without a word, I ran back to stairwell and didn't stop descending until I was on the ground. The Russians were charging into the plaza. I looked down the alley I was in and saw Slender, standing tall and firing at the Russians. I was petrified by what I was seeing, someone who had so recently opened up about his feeling of killing had turned into a machine gun himself, without the intention of stopping until all the lain waste had satisfied his thirst for blood.

The Russians were closing in on my side of the alley. Fox was laying cover fire from up into the hotel. I let my adrenaline of fear take over and I started firing on the Russians. Why they didn't fire back was beyond me. I kept killing and soon, I was almost out of ammo.

"Last mag!" I shouted.

"Take this!" Slender shouted as he slid his other Skorpion and 3 magazines to me. I picked it up without question and began firing. It seemed to be very effective, but soon, it was hopeless. I was out of ammo for everything, and the Russians just kept coming. I looked over at Slender. The slow-motion was coming back to me again.

I saw him; a killing machine. He had just run out of his last mag. He hit the release and dropped it out. He grabbed the barrel and started swinging it like a baseball bat. He downed at least 12 enemies before the stock broke. He then grabbed the pistol grip and started skewering the Russians like they were shrimp. He didn't even have a bayonet. It was only after stabbing another 6 Russians that they got to him. I failed to realize that I was basically a sitting duck, and the Russians got me too. They forced me onto my knees. I could hear Slender fighting with the Russians, trying to get him to his knees. He locked eyes with me. I saw him reach for his boot. He grabbed his secondary knife and he forced his way onto He took out 7 people around him before rushing to me.

"I'LL BE FUCKING DAMNED TO HELL BEFORE I LET THE ROOKIE DIE!" The Russians must have understood what he meant. Three of them tackled him to the ground. I could hear him yell, "ROSS! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE! RUN!" That was the last thing I heard. I kneeled in silence, hands bound behind my back. I felt a burlap sack slipped over my face. I could feel a gun pressed a back of my head. I could also feel the holder bearing a smile. I closed my eyes and whispered,

"I'm sorry. Mom, Dad, I fought like hell. I gave my all. Goodbye." I felt one last tear fall from my eyes, then it ended.


	16. Capture

**Dalton "Slender" Baker**

**17 September 2014**

**Time Unknown**

**Location Unknown**

I had witnessed the death of my pride right in front of me. The kid I swore to protect was murdered before my very eyes. The last things I saw, that, and Fox running out of the hotel faster than Usain Bolt, no equipment but his pistol and rifle. Then it all went black. The memory played over and over in my head while I was out. It was a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. That was, until I came to my senses. I was sitting on a wooden chair in some underground bunker. They took all my gear, guns, and even my jacket. It was hot and smelled as if Death took a shit and didn't flush. There was one light over my head. It hummed like it was about to burn out. I heard the bunker door open and two voices speaking to each other.

One set of footsteps was coming down the concrete steps. It was a burly guy who looked like he was unarmed, but I wasn't fooled. His arms were crossed and he had a stern look on his face. He said something to me in Russian that I didn't understand. I stood up and gave him a lazy look. They hadn't fastened my feet to the chair. Fucking idiots. He pushed me back into the chair. I stood up again. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and said something else in Russian.

"Is this how you fuckboys interrogate?" I scoffed. He pushed me against the wall, hard. I tried, but failed to contain my maniacal laughter. He pushed me against the wall again and I bounced off and towards him. He grabbed both of my shoulders. Keeping my delirious look to deceive him, I saw him reaching for the pistol he undoubtedly had kept in the back of his pants. I had no choice but to lunge and sunk my teeth into his jugular. I tightened my bite and ripped as hard as I could. A good size of his throat came with my mouth as I pulled back. He stopped and tried holding his throat. Within seconds, he collapsed on the floor.

I sat and pulled my knees to my chest so I could move my bound hands under and into the front. I turned the body over and grabbed the Pistol, a good ol' M1911. I searched his pockets; I found 2 extra mags. That definitely would help. I checked his legs, sure enough, there was a knife strapped to one of them. I grabbed the knife and worked my fingers around it in such a way that I could slice my bindings. Once I was free, I grabbed the Colt and mags and silently ascended the stairs. I approached the door, and stopped a couple steps short. I crouched to try and see under the crack. It was still daylight out.

"Maybe I wasn't out all that long." I thought. I looked as far left and right as I could to see if I could spot any guards. There were two standing on either side of the door. I readied the knife in my left hand and the Colt in my right. I worked the knob and shoved the door open. It swung open to the right and I knocked the guard off balance. I lunged at the other with the knife and sliced his throat deeply. I took aim with the pistol on the other guard with precision, only putting one bullet into his head.

I surveyed the area. There didn't seem to be any other guards. I stood in silence for a few moments to determine how far from the coast I was. It was to the West, and quite close. There was a Jeep on the scene, but I figured I didn't want to attract too much attention. I held the Colt firmly in my hand and took off into the jungle towards the sea. Maybe I could catch Ross before dust-off arrived.


	17. The Lone Wolf

**Master Sergeant Ross "Fox" Raymond**

Tree branches and bushes whipped by in indistinct blurs as I raced into the jungle. The sounds of gradually faded as I put distance between myself and Seatown. How I was still running, I don't recall. Onyx had been fighting or running almost nonstop since the mission began, and now it was just me. I came to a lurching stop, casting a glance back the way I'd come. What was it that had spooked me? I listened and then I realized: the shooting had stopped altogether. Did that mean the last of my friends were dead? I knew Rook was done for, but Slender and Cub had been fiercely fighting the Russians when I last saw them. Slender yelled for us to bug out, and at that point all military discipline had gone out the window. I ran for it as I expected them to. So why the hell weren't they on my heels? I tried the radio, one of the few things I'd kept.

"Onyx team, this is Fox. Respond if you're able… Onyx Team, this is Fox… Dalton? Jacob? Sound off, you two!" Of course there was no response. I stumbled on through the trees, no longer sure where I was going. "Overlord, this is Onyx. Do you copy? I made it out of the town. Some fucking transport would be nice." Didn't care about radio protocols or that I'd just insulted my only asset left. Wished I had water.

"Onyx Team, this is Overlord. Evac birds are on their way. Send up a flare when you're ready, and they'll pick you boys up." Overlord sounded worried. I guess she had good reason to be.

"There is no 'Team', Overlord. It's just me. Sending flare now. Be advised, the skies are crowded around Seatown. The Russians finally arrived for their deal."

She acknowledged just as I reached a familiar landmark. It was the beach near where Goofy's body lay concealed. I tossed my pack in the sand, tempted to just sit back and watch the rhythmic advance and retreat of the tide. Only the thought of bloodthirsty Russians tracking me through the woods kept me going. I took out the flare gun, loaded up my last round, and pointed the shred of hope to the heavens.

"Firing flare," I told whoever was listening, and did just that. It left a streak of colored smoke in its wake as peaked and slowly fell back to land near me on the beach, still spitting smoke and sparks. I trudged over to the hidden spot and removed the leaves that covered Tyler "Goofy" Silva.

"Feels like we're waiting at the bus stop," I chuckled. Rotor wings beat the air nearby, appearing in the form of a helicopter that hovered nearby. I looked at it and wasn't too surprised to see that it was a Russian chopper, not a friendly. I had nothing left to fight it with. So instead, I just gave it my snappiest one-fingered salute and stared down my killer.

A streak of screaming fire carved into the helicopter's side, causing it to immediately wobble dangerously. Its engines screamed as whoever was piloting fought to retain control over the bird. Machine gun fire peppered its armor, and the wobble developed into a tailspin which sent it over my head to crash in the tree line. I looked for the source, and saw a MH-60 Blackhawk touchdown nearby on the beach.

"Great." I thought, and collapsed backwards into the sand. As I stared hazily upwards, several more attack helicopters passed overhead in the direction of Seatown. Hands seized my harness and dragged me into the helicopter. The Army rescue force recovered Goofy's body, too, so I stopped struggling and lay limp on the deck as we took off and soared back to base. I got one good look at Seatown as we went. The whole place was just a smoking and charred mess now. A dozen fires raged unchecked in different parts of town, while our Quick Reaction Force gunned down the Russian teams that had come to secure Blackridge's intel.

"Burn it all", I raged in my mind, "Just wipe it clean away and pretend it never happened." We flew on, and I knew that on the reports, the mission would be listed as a success. Without my team there to disagree with the bean counters, all I could do was watch.

A month later, I received a letter in the military hospital where I was still recuperating. The envelope was mostly unmarked, with no return address. I cautiously opened it, and my eyes widened. It read:

"Ross, or should I say, _Fox_, It's been a while hasn't it? I'm going to have to cut this a bit short, I don't know if they're onto me. I saw the hawks arrive. It was a bit of a relief. I could hear the Russians closing in originally, but then I heard the guns blazing. I could even tell the pitch difference in our choppers to theirs. When I told you to GTFO, they had me pinned. Even worse, they murdered Jacob in front of me. I almost immediately lost hope. I told him he was going to be okay, and I failed him. Then I blacked out. They must've hit me or something. I only could have been out for an hour or so. I woke up in Satan's port-a-potty and had to do some things I'm not proud of. I don't think I'll ever get the guy's neck out from between my teeth. I was making like Hell for the coast when I heard the choppers arrive. I was there when they picked you and Tyler up. I broke the treeline and saw the liftoff immediately after you two were loaded. Nonetheless, mission complete. I advise you to NOT come look for me. I don't want to drag the rest of the crew back to Hell with me. If they say "tough shit," then so be it. I have to stay here to keep the suspicion down. I'm severely riddled with scars, so I don't think they recognize me. I'll remain where I am until I can find my own way home. Conclusions aren't necessary. You know who I am. Should my time come, I'll look forward to seeing you, and the rest of Onyx Team, in Valhalla."

At the bottom of the paper, there was no signature. There was no initial. All there was, was eight jagged tally marks.


End file.
